


Friendly Neighbourhood Phantom Thieves

by spideysona24



Series: Friendly Neighborhood Phantom Thieves [1]
Category: Marvel, Persona 5, Persona 5 Royal, Persona Series, Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Blood, Blood and Injury, Cafe Leblanc (Persona 5), Crossover, Eventual Relationships, Gen, Guns, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Mementos (Persona 5), Multi, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Palaces (Persona 5), Persona 5 Spoilers, Persona 5: The Royal Spoilers, Self-Indulgent, Ships not tagged because of spoilers, Slight Canon Divergence, Work In Progress, not set in a specific marvel universe but heavily inspired by 1610 spectacular and a bit of 1048, same with certain characters, the writer's barely disguised fan service for themselves
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:47:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 32
Words: 19,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24858619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spideysona24/pseuds/spideysona24
Summary: When a 16 year old Peter Parker enrolls in a student exchange program in Tokyo, the least that he expects is to be entangled in the web between Phantom Thieves, a politician by the name of Masayoshi Shido, his best friend's dad Norman Osborn and an alternate reality built from the cognition of the collective unconscious, but that's exactly what happens in this multi-chapter tale
Relationships: Akechi Goro & Amamiya Ren, Akechi Goro & Persona 5 Protagonist, Amamiya Ren & Peter Parker, Amamiya Ren & Sakamoto Ryuji, Norman Osborn & Peter Parker, Okumura Haru & Sakamoto Ryuji, Peter Parker & Mary Jane Watson, Peter Parker & Nijima Makoto, Peter Parker & Persona 5 Protagonist, Peter Parker & Sakamoto Ryuji, Sakamoto Ryuji & Takamaki Ann, Suzui Shiho & Takamaki Ann
Series: Friendly Neighborhood Phantom Thieves [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2118444
Comments: 22
Kudos: 48





	1. A literal Wake-up call

It was a fine morning in Queens. The sun was rising, the weather had a slight cold to it, but not too much. It felt like the perfect day to just... lay down low in bed and relax. But thing is, it wasn't

"Get up Peter!" scolded Aunt May, as today was the big day: It was time for him to move to Tokyo.

Peter Parker, midtown high student, enrolling in an exchange program to Japan? It's more likely than you think. Most fees would be around the 10 thousand dollar mark, and for a guy in queens you might as well be asking for a billion. But Shujin Academy was desperate for new talent, and what better than a 16 year old boy genius. Needless to say, they were impressed with the kid's skills, and having him enroll, even for just 1 year, could be enough to highlight their actual education division, as Shujin was only really known for its cunning volleyball team. As for the budget, his best friend, Harry Osborn, dad Norman Osborn was surprisingly happy to give him what to him was just a loan.

For once everything seemed perfect in Peter's life, but as it turned out that day: It wasn’t. Because he was running late, and his plane was about to take off in just a few hours. And if that wasn’t bad enough, there was also a terrible traffic jam all over Queens.  
But Peter wasn’t a mere average high school student, because he was special, he had something that made him different. And that something was being The Sensational/ Incredible/ Wall-Crawling/ Spectacular/ Friendly Neighbourhood/ Amazing **Spider-Man!**


	2. Always Responsible

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter swings to the airport while talking to MJ

"WOOHOO!" Screamed Peter, as he swung through Queens in his good old red and blue tights.  


"Peter you do realize that I can hear you what you're saying right? And that include your web swinging screams."  


"OH, sorry MJ! It's just that sometimes I just can't control myself while web swinging. It never gets old."  


"Yeah, right" responded Mary Jane Watson, Peter's other best friend, but more importantly, the only other person who knew of his superhero alter-ego.  


"But coming back to our conversation, what if the city gets attacked while you're away? It seems like every week a random supervillain has an evil plan that's executed anywhere from the Financial District all the way to Harlem"  


"And just like how this city is filled with villains, it's also filled with heroes. Besides, all members of my rogues gallery are currently chilling in the raft, so I'm almost certain that we won't see any Sinister Six reunion tours for a long while."  


"Ok, but what about Green Goblin?" Mary Jane asked him worryingly.  


The Green Goblin wasn't the first costumed weirdo Peter fought, and he definitely won't be the last one. But there's something frightening about him. Is it the gargoyle glider? Bombs that look like pumpkins? Maybe even the weird lighting, laser finger guns glove thingies? Who knows  


"Well Gobby always seems to be the one after me, so it wouldn't surprise me if he were to follow me to Japan. But even then, it's almost been 6 months since we last fought, so maybe he just hung up the gnome outfit. Wait, i'm almost at JFK, gotta turn off right now."  


"Ok then. I'll miss you tiger."  


"I'll miss you too."  


Peter then made sure no one was looking before he changed back into his normal civilian clothes. That was when he took a look at his suit  


"Would it be safe for me to suit up there? Like, with great power there must also always come great responsibility, but the recent exchanged student and Spider- Man showing up at the same time? It wouldn't take long until people put one and one together." Peter thought  


"No," he said determined "the show must go on."


	3. Far from the friendly neighbourhood

And there he was, Tokyo. Far away from the big apple, being there was… mesmerizing. The farthest he ever travelled from NYC was to Florida, to visit a friend of his Aunt. But it was only one summer week there, not a full school year in another continent. 

It was then when he saw, right at the airport's exit two people: A woman with long white hair with a plaque that said his name

"So you must be Sae Niijima, correct?" Peter said in japanese.  One of the pros in being a superhero is that stakeouts often ;end you free time to do whatever you want, such as learning a new language.

"You would be correct. Come with me; I parked right outside"

Seeing Tokyo, felt surreal to Parker. Despite living in a world where a scientist goes by the name of "Ant-Man" and fights crime, or where Victor Von Doom is a real name of a real person that rules over an entire country, and calls himself Dr Doom, being in a place he'd only seen pictures and videos of was still shocking.

After a few hours, he finally arrived at the apartment complex 

"As you know, your aunt and I have arranged you to stay with us for the school year. You'll be in the guest bedroom." Sae explained to Peter, as they both entered the apartment.

"Peter, this is my younger sister, Makoto. Makoto, this is Peter Parker. He's the exchange student that will be living with us this year."

"Nice to meet you Makoto-san! Wait did I use the honorific right? I'm still kind of learning the ropes of japanese."

"It's okay! If anything you speak it better than some of the other students in Shujin. Speaking of which, you're kind of a science whiz too, aren't you?"

"Well, I am something of a scientist myself." 

"Anyway," said Sae "tomorrow I'll bring you to the school to introduce yourself to principal Kobayakawa and your teacher, so I'd advise you to start organising all your stuff in your room." said Sae.


	4. Introductions, trains and psychotic breakdowns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter meets a fellow transfer student and discovers a series of psychotic breakdowns that had been happening in Tokyo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is so far the biggest chapter yet, so the next one might take a while to write. Hopefully the wait will be worth it

"So you must be Peter Parker." said Principal Kobayakawa.

"Yup, the one and only" 

"So you know why you're here in Shujin. In your school, Midtown High, you're wildly considered one of the best students there, despite being constantly late for class. And because of that you decided to enroll in an exchange program, to help your school curricle, is that correct?"

"I don't know why you're asking me this since you probably knew this already but… you are correct."

"Very well. You'll be in class 2-D, Ms Kawakami's class"

"Here's your student ID." Said Kawakami, the woman with long black frizzy hair, as she gave Peter his ID for shujin.

But as Peter walked out of the room he saw a lonely fellow student, with short messy black hair. That made Peter curious, as he and him were the only students that day.

"Hi!" said Peter, trying to start.

"Uhmm, hello." answered the student.

"My name is Peter Parker. What's yours?"

"Mine is Ren. Ren Amamiya. You're not from around here aren't you?"

"You're right. I'm an exchange program student, from New York."

"Huh. Well, I'm from a small town called Inaba and I transferred to here in Tokyo." 

"Well, here's for a happy school year for you."

"Here's a happy one for you too." Ren responded.

They then talked a bit before a man called Sojiro told Amamiya it was time for them to go; and that was when Peter realized that too.

He had been in Tokyo for just a few days, but he was already starting to get the grasp on the city, as he hung out with Makoto. But as he got to the train station, something happened. His spider-sense was tingling, but he didnt know why… until it was too late.

A train running at full speed out of nowhere came crashing into the train station. Peter then quickly used his web shooters to pull some civilians out of the way without anyone knowing before the train cars just crashed into each other. The debris was a lot and he could barely see, but that didn't stop Peter from trying to help as many people as he could.

"Is everyone ok?!" He screamed to the people in the train, as he tried to open the doors.

It wasn't easy of course, but he managed to help a surprisingly amount of people from the train. Fortunately no one had died too.

After that Peter got back to the Nijima's apartment.

"Oh god, Parker-kun, are you ok? I saw the accident on TV, and I got worried you got hurt!"

"Don't worry Makoto, I'm totally fine! Where's Sae though?"  
  


"Sae-san went to work after seeing the accident, as it seems that it's connected to the psychotic breakdowns that have been happening ultimately."

"Psychotic breakdowns?" Peter asked

"Basically accidents where people would suddenly do random and irrational things, which would often cause destruction and hurt others. Either way, please stay safe out there."

As Peter was dressing up in his pyjamas, as tomorrow would be his first proper day in Shujin, he though about those accidents. He's been Spider-Man for only 2 years, yet he had a few theories over what caused them. Maybe it's a psychic mutant attacking people. Maybe it's someone using some sort of machine. Hell, maybe it could be a group of inter-dimensional aliens, who knows.

But what mattered now is that Peter would look into them, and find out who is causing those accidents, and stop them.


	5. Similarities and differences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter's first day at Shujin Academy takes a surprising turn with his past experiences in Midtown in mind

Even though he was in a whole different continent, with its own unique alphabet, in an entire new school, certain things stay the same for Peter. Such as how he was late to class, as usual. 

"OH SHIT-" Peter said, as he quickly changed to his Shujin Academy uniform.

Makoto already got out of the house, and so did Sae, but they trusted Parker with the keys. But as he got to the elevator he realised something: If he wanted to make it to school, he'd have to use his powers in order to make it there in time. So he did exactly that; Not full blown web swinging of course, but more of jumping and doing parkour over buildings. Fortunately it was early in the morning, so people were too tired to look up. Probably.

As Peter jumped and ran through buildings he saw a big gap between the next one. And right under it he saw the black haired transfer student talking to a blonde student. Not that it mattered, as getting to school in time was more important. So he utilised his web shooters, that look like 2 normal blue bracelets, to launch himself into the air. And finally he dropped into an alleyway, where he arrived at Shujin at last. 

But while some things might stay the same, others might change into something else. Somethings might be totally different, which in this case was Peter's popularity. See, back in midtown high, everyone called him the "weird science kid" or "the chronically late nerd". But in Shujin he was that "young science genius from the city of superheroes". It felt surreal for him, but also great but also great.

By lunchtime however he realised something. One of his classmates, a blue haired kid with maybe the same age as Peter, was sitting alone, all by himself. At first it reminded him of how he was back at Midtown High, but Peter quickly noticed the amount of injuries that his classmate had. He then decided to approach him, to learn more about the situation.

"Hi." Said Peter.

"Huh, hello. Who are you?"

"Oh, my name is Peter Parker."

"Well, mine is Yuuki Mishima, but you can call me just Mishima."

"Nice to meet you! I saw your injuries and I got curious; How did you get them?"

"Oh these? They're just from volleyball practice, that's all." Said Mishima

However Peter suspected there was more to it then that, as Mishima's voice sounded extremely sad. However he wouldn't have time for more questions as the bell was ringing, and it was time for Peter to return to class.   



	6. Leblanc sweet Leblanc

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter and Ren further their small bond

"Settle down." Said Kawakami to her class, as she introduced a familiar black haired teen.

"...Well today I'd like to introduce a transfer student: Ren Amamiya. Today we… had him attend from the afternoon on since he wasn't feeling well. All right please say something to the class"

"Nice to meet you." Said Ren.

Then the rest of Peter's daily class happened. Of course it felt weird going to a different class, but still, he was really good at it. It was a clean slate for him, and it really showed. But what wasn't good were all the rumors involving Ren, which were nothing less than overtly the top and made him look scarier than he was. People were saying he carried knives and other weapons, is a mass assaulter, commited murder, and even an elephant smuggler. But Peter knew they were definitely nothing but lies, as from the second he met him he seemed like a great guy. After class ended Peter tried to talk to Ren. Though for some reason he was in the rooftop, something Peter had no idea what could he be doing there.

"I know what is like." 

"Huh?" Mumbled Ren

"I know what is like to feel like the entire world hates your guts, when you didn't do anything at all. To fail for no reason. And I know how to teach you to deal with… with all those fucked up rumours about you."

"I don't mind them though. If anything I kind of like them. So absurd it's comedy, and it gives people an excuse to leave me alone."

"Yeah right, but at one point you'll be tired of them, so again, tell me with you ever need help with them. Anyhow, mind me walking you back home honey?" Peter said, in a joking manner.

"Well, be my guest babe." Replied Ren, also jokingly.

And so, Peter walked Ren to Yongen-Jaya, where he first saw Leblanc

"Wait, so THIS is where you live? You've gotta be joking, right?"

"Nope. And it's not that bad. I mean, there's a lot of coffee and curry, all for free mind you. And the loft is super spacious, despite being a dusty disorganized mess."

"Well, I guess this is where we part off our own separate ways. So good luck!"

"To you too Parker-kun!" 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one was a bit shorter than the last one, but I'll try to make the chapters a bit longer next time


	7. The volleyball Rally

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter faces off Kamoshida.

If there was one thing Shujin was known for, it was their volleyball team, and it showed. They cared so much about them, that they had an entire volleyball rally on April 13th just to showcase their players

"Okay, listen up everyone." Said Kawakami. "As you all know, today is the volleyball rally. Head to the gymnasium once you've changed. Got it?"

And so for the first time Peter wore the school's official tracksuit outfit, a nice comfy red one. 

The rally itself was nothing special, but there was one thing that caught Peter's attention was how everyone in the volleyball team seemed full of injuries. This led him to an investigation of his own, which didn't really go anywhere. But as the rally went on, and Kamoshida threw the ball again, it hit Mishima badly, right in his face, and it hurt badly. So bad in fact, he had to go to the nursery office.

This made Peter angry, as he was certain that Kamoshida didn't actually care about what he did, as he only played for the fame. So he did the unexpected.

"I wanna join the game and replace Mishima-kun." Said Peter, boldly.

Everyone in the gym grasped in surprise, as they weren't expecting him to eve come close to Kamoshida's abilities. 

"Wow is he really gonna…?" 

"No way, he's gonna get his ass kicked."

"Someone start recording, this is gonna be good."

"Alright Parker, let's get started." Said Kamoshida smugly.

And so, as he launched the ball into the air and slammed it, Peter quickly ran and jumped into the ball, slamming it harder into the ground.

"Ok, so where's the ball? What, you said "Let's get started" and I'm still waiting." Peter told, as he shrugged off what just happened. 

The entire gym was even more surprised, and grasped out loud, as they've never seen anything like this before.

Kamoshida then angrily threw another ball and Peter did the same thing again. And again. And again, and again, and again.

"C'mon man, it's been like almost, 10 minutes, you gotta throw the ball at some point."

The entire gym was now laughing, as it was hilarious to see Kamoshida tricked so easily. 

"Arrrggghhh that's it! We're done here!" He said, angrily and frustrated.

"Oh really? Just like that huh? Well, I'd like to thank my audience here, you guys are what really make me who I am, and I wanted to say I am here every wednesday and friday, at this exact time, see more info about my shows at the ticket booth." 

And as Peter took a look at the people in the gym he again saw Ren, this time sitting with the same blonde from a few days ago. Maybe he finally got a friend, since people are still spreading rumours about him. 

But as Peter left the gym he heard them both talk about "getting dirt on Kamoshida". Maybe they were investigating him as well. But he couldn't confirm it just yet, as it already was time for him to get back to Sae's with Makoto.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you've read, this chapter was HEAVILY inspired by the basketball scene from the first TASM film, so I hope you don't mind me getting inspiration from that.


	8. Big time superhero

"Oh c'mon, you gotta admit that was funny right?" Peter said, frustrated.

"You humiliated a PE teacher for literally no reason."  
  


"A PE teacher that's abusing students mind you."

"How do you know that?" Shrugged off Makoto.But peter could see in her eyes that she knew something was up with Kamoshida as well. 

"Well we've arrived at the station."

"Actually I need to go somewhere before. I'll catch you up later."

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  
Later that day, Peter got to Tokyo International Airport. It was already time for him to wear the tights once more, but he had to erase all connections to Shujin, so he decided to make it look like he just arrived by airplane

"Hey MJ!" He called her.

"Wha-what? It's like, almost 6 in the morning."  
  


"Oops sorry! Forgot about timezones! I just wanted to tell you to turn on the news."

"Ok. Why though?"

"Oh trust me, you'll see."

And so Peter dropped through the roof and began swinging through the airport itself.

"Hey everyone! Sorry I was late to the party! Flight got delayed, but at least now I know what's the deal with airplane food!"

As Spider-Man was swinging, he heard people talk about him.

"Could he be...?"  
  
  


"No way, I thought he was just a myth!"

  
"It's the Spider-Man!"

"WOOHOOO!" Screamed Spider-Man as he got out of the airport into the city.

"HELOOOO TOKYO!"


	9. Worldwide menace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spider-Man goes on patrol for the first time in Tokyo. Peter talks to his boss about this

Despite being far away from new york, Peter is still was the friendly neighbourhood people needed. And it wasn't so different from NYC. Rescuing people from car crashes, saving cats from trees, stopping people from robbing stores. In fact, it felt quite a bit nostalgic seeing criminals react to him. Even though he was only Spidey for 2 years at that point most people were already somewhat used to his powers. But in Tokyo so many people are taken by the surprise that yes, he can do whatever a spider can, is, well amazing.

It was a good day of patrol, and so Peter decided to go back home to Nijima's.

"I heard what happened at Shujin, and I am very disappointed in you." Sae told Peter, as she opened the door for him.

"In my defense, he was the one who let me play in the first place."

"It still doesn't give you an excuse to be disrespectful towards him. Also, someone called you. He wants to talk to you."

"And that "he" is…?"

"Someone called J. Jonah Jameson, I think."

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Parker? PARKER! DO YOU *SEE* THIS FOOTAGE?!"

"Uhm yes mister Jameson." Peter replied to his boss, J. Jonah Jameson, as he showed footage of the airport from earlier that day. You see, while being Spider-Man can be fun, it doesn't pay, so Peter takes pictures of himself using a camera webbed up near buildings. And he sells them to the paper that just about hates his guts, that produces headlines such as "Spider-Man: Threat or Menace". But at least it pays well, so there's that.

"So you know what this means, right?"

"Ummm, nope, I have no clue what this means."  
  


"IT MEANS THAT THAT WALL CRAWLING MENACE, SPIDER-MAN, HAS *OFFICIALLY* GONE WORLDWIDE! THINK ABOUT IT, IT MEANS HE COULD BE ANYWHERE! AND NOW JAPAN WILL FEEL HIS WRATH!" Screamed JJ, in total anger.

"But the good news is, I might be able to take new pictures of him, right?"

"THAT IS ALSO TRUE, AND AT LEAST ONE BIT OF GOOD NEWS! So remind me to send them to my email will ya?"

And so, Peter closed off Sae's laptop (which she lent for the voice call) and went to sleep, as tomorrow would be another day.


	10. The calling card

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mysterious calling cards show up in Shujin academy, capturing the students attention

"A calling card?" Asked a student.

"I heard it was already posted by the time everyone got here this morning." Said another student.

As Peter thought was gonna be another usual day at Shujin, something very interesting happened; Multiple calling cards were posted all over the school's bulletin boards. They were red, and on the front had a symbol of a face with shark-like teeth wearing a top hat, with text written in english that read: Take your heart. On the back there was japanese written text that read: 

_Sir Suguru Kamoshida, the utter bastard of lust. We know how shitty you are, and that you put your twisted desires on students that can't fight back. That's why we have decided to steal away those desires and make you confess your sins. This will be done tomorrow, so we hope you will be ready. From, the Phantom Thieves of Hearts_

Interesting enough, it was referred to Kamoshida, just a few days after one of the students, Suzui Shiho attempted suicide too. It was too much of a coincidence to be true. But when he saw that calling card, he was pissed

"Did you do this?! Or was it you?!" He angrily lashed out at the students.

He then approached both Ren and the blonde boy, who were both appearing to be hanging out with a blonde girl, named Ann Takamaki. She was Shiho's best friend, and there were a lot of rumours about her and Kamoshida having a "relationship". But they were just rumours. However a thought showed up in Peter's head as Kamoshida talked to them. Maybe, somehow, someway, those three were the phantom thieves of hearts. But that was a question for next time


	11. Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ren and Peter talk about nightmare's that he's been having lately.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the first chapter not from Peter's point of view, but from Ren's!

A dark street, in the night. A woman being assaulted by a man. Sudden lights from police cars. And a bright litted court room, where one is declared guilty. This is the nightmare that Ren Amamiya had to face ever since he came to Tokyo.

Now of course, he couldn't change the past, and it wasn't like everything was horrible. He did meet new friends in the process, like Ryuji and Ann. And he was able to defeat Kamoshida's shadow with the help of the other Phantom Thieves. But in the days preceding the actual change of heart, he was constantly reminded of the original sin that led to all of that happening, and it felt way too similar to the actual thing.

As Ren walked to Shujin he thought about the scruciating waiting for Kamoshida's heart to be changed. Fortunately ever since he fought his shadow, he hasn't gone to school, so at least the atmosphere was a lot better, without someone scrubbing in Ren's face that he would be soon be expelled.

After class he went to talk with someone; With Peter.

"Parker! Over here."

"Huh?"

"Hey, remember what you said? About dealing with false rumors and what not? Well, something has been happening lately. Where I get these… weird nightmares."  
  
"What nightmares?" Peter asked.

"It's basically the night of the assault. The one where I got arrested."

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And so, Ren told Peter all about what happened that night. How he went back home late that night. How he saw an innocent woman getting assaulted… and how he got arrested and accused of assault after the assaulter tripped and fell.

"So you saw something bad happening, but didn't walk away, and instead you headed straight there, because it was the right thing." Said Peter.

"I wouldn't say it was the right thing? Like, I didn't know what was really going on, I didn't know the context of what was happening. And if I didn't intervene, I wouldn't be in probation."

"What? No it wouldn't! You saw something bad happening and ou tried to help. That's more than what most people would do if they were in the same situation. Besides my uncle used to tell me something. That with great power, there must come great responsibility."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that when you can stop something bad from happening, it's your responsibility to do so. And if you don't… then any bad things that might follow are, well, your fault."

"I see. So you think that justice should come first, no matter what the cost… even if you're punished by it. You know, this philosophy sort of reminds me of that Spider-Man character from where you came from. I heard he's now here in Tokyo too."

"Hmm, what exactly are you implying, Amamiya?"

"Nothing! I'm just saying it's big a coincidence to have you both show up around the same time."

"Not as much as 2 students, Sakamoto and Takamaki, both connected to Kamoshida, hanging out with the transfer student who reportedly had an "argument" with him, right before calling cars showed up all around school."

But before Ren could respond, Peter realised he was late, and that he should be getting home soon. And so Ren decided to spend the rest of the day bonding with his "confidants" as Igor called them.

  
  



	12. Who are the Phantom Thieves?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter and MJ discuss about the recent phantom thieves incident in Shujin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey uhm. It's been a while  
> Anyways the reason why I haven't updated this pic in so long was basically because well: I kind of forgot about it. And I also didn't feel like writing since at the time my interest in Persona 5 was rapidly decreasing. But now I promise to update this fic a bit more often, and hopefully it will be finished by the end of 2021. Either way, regardless of if you were here since the beginning, or are just checking this out for the first time I hope that you have fun!

“The phantom thieves of hearts?” Asked Mary Jane

"Yup. That's what they call themselves." Answered Spider-Man as he patrolled through Tokyo in the night.

"That is the-"

  
"Stupidest thing you've ever heard of? I thought the exact same thing".

"So what you're saying is that this group of "phantom thieves" sent calling cards all around school, that were meant for that PE teacher that reportedly abuses students?"

"Not only that, but I also suspect who they might be. Only problem is that I only know the name of one of them: Ren Amamiya."

"So you don't actually know who they are."

"Yeah kinda. But still, it's something."

"You gonna go after them?"

"Maybe. For now I think that it's best to wait to see what they'll do."

  
  



	13. The counseling session

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter has a counseling session with Takuto Maruki, the new councilor of Shujin Academy

Some time had passed since peter's call with MJ. For starter Kamoshida's "change of heart" seemed to had happened, with him announcing his plan to kill himself during a morning assembly about how one of Shujin's students, Suzui Shiho, had attempted to commit suicide on the school rooftop at few weeks ago, before being scolded by Ann Takamaki, one of Peter's classmates to not do it. Afterwards a few days later, the school presented a brand new councillor: Takuto Maruki. And Peter was one of the first people to do a counselling session with him.

  
  


\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You must be… Peter Parker, correct?" Noted Maruki.

"Yeah. I'm the student in the student exchange program." Replied Peter.

"Well I read your report and I saw that you lost your parents at a fairly young age and lived with your uncle and aunt. That was until your uncle tragically passed away 2 years ago. That must have warranted a lot of counselling, wouldn't it?"

"You bet, so this isn't exactly my first rodeo… but still, having a school hire one because of such tragic event is quite a lot."

"Yeah… but that's why I'm here for! So: What do you want to talk about?"

"Well… I don't actually know. I haven't been to one of these in quite a while."

"Well let's start with a simple question then: What do you think of your life?"

"My life? Well for starters I think it's pretty decent. But it feels like… like the whole world is after me you know? And that no matter what I do, no matter how hard I try, the people around me always get hurt by me somehow. I just wish this wouldn't happen, and that things were easier on me and my Aunt. She basically works non-stop to try and get food to our table and I do too."

"I see. So basically what you're trying to say is that life feels extremely hard for you, and that a lot of people hate you. But that's not exactly that. You see, a lot of times people seem to be hateful of someone… when in actually it might just be jealousy. Be it for one's looks, resources, or in your case, your intelligence."

Peter sat there for a while, taking everything the lightly bearded man told him.

"Wow doc… that actually really helped a lot. Thanks! I will make sure to meet you here more often!"

"No problems Parker-kun!"  
  


"Please just call me Peter. Or how my friends call me, Pete."

Peter then left the room, feeling much lighter and happier then he was before. Like something got out of his shoulder.

  
  


  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes as you can tell from this chapter, the Persona 5 stuff in this story will be based upon the Persona 5 Royal re-release, including its twists and turns!


	14. Catching up with Makoto

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you've played the game you would know that this scene comes before the Maruki introduction, not after. That is because I screwed up by having both be out of order. So sorry! It won't happen again, I promise

"He was gonna do wHAT??????" Exclaimed Peter, surprised and confused.

"Yes, principal Kobayakawa is forcing me to spy on students because he believes some of them might have been involved in the phantom thieves incident."

"Wow that's super messed up. And blackmailing you by threatening to ruin your sister's career is just evil man!"

"I wouldn't use a word that heavy but yes, it is quite awful this situation I see myself in."

"Also, and this is completely unrelated, but now that KamoSHITBAG turned out to be a total SCUMBAG… do you think that my play against him was justified?"

"Everything about Kamoshida's possible abuse at the time was nothing more then just rumors, so no, it still wasn't justified you to go against him like that. Even if it aged very well."

"Aw c'mon really? Not even a tiny little il bit?"

"Not even a tiny little il bit, or whatever that means." Murmured Makoto, as her attention seemed to drift to a familiar group of students going up the stairs to the rooftop. And they were: Ren Amamiya, Ann Takamaki, and now the previously unnamed blonde boy to Peter was named Ryuji Sakamoto.

"Excuse me for one second Parker-kun, I have to deal with something."  
  
"Is it about those guys?" Asked Peter as he pointed out the previously mentioned trio. "If so then… I would like to see what you are gonna talk to them about."

"Do you also believe that they might be the Phantom Thieves referred in that calling card?"

"Maybe, but we still don't have any info on them. That's why I wanna see how they react to you."

"Ok then. I will go to the door to the roof while you stay hidden in the corridor, so you can hear me talk."

  
  


\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  
  


"This place is off limits you know." Makoto told to the students.

"... We'll get outta here once we're done chattin'.", Replied Ryuji. "Anyways, what's Miss Council President want with us?"

"The troublemaker, the girl full or rumors surrounding her, and the infamous transfer student… Interesting combination."

"......!", Exclaimed Ann. "Great way to start a conversation."   
  


"By the way… It seems as though you got to know Mr. Kamoshida pretty well."

"Uhmmm who exactly are you talking about?" Said Ren, seemingly being genuinely confused for one second.

"Are you playing dumb with me?" Makoto seemingly groaned

"It just goes to show how little interaction he had with him."

"Hm… I heard Mr. Kamoshida used a volleyball team member to spread details of your past record. Don't you hate him? Mr. Kamoshida, I mean.", Asked Makoto to Ren.

"I mean he DID harass and abuse his students, so why the hell wouldn't I hate him?" Replied Ren.

"What's all this about?", Asked Ryuji. "My friend here's an upstanding guy."

"That does seem to be true." Peter thought to himself.

"I don't mean to offend. Many students have been shaken up by what happened with Mr. Kamoshida. The rumors about that odd, calling card-esque posing aren't going away either."

"I didn't expect someone like you would care about that tactless stuff, Niijima-senpai.", Ann replied, seeming to be genuine surprised.

"I dunno that it was tactless… Anyways, we done here? We can't leave if you keep talkin' to us."

"At least try to understand my position. Being forced to deal with this horseplay..."

"Horseplay…!?", Ann quickly replied.

"Ah yes, by the way… It's been decided that this place will be closed off due to the incident. I heard some people are coming up here without permission, after all…. I'm sorry to have interrupted you."

Peter and Makoto then went home, discussing the recent events that had transpired.

  
  



	15. Osborn Rising

Shido was looking up towards Tokyo, the city in the country he loved dearly… yet was disappointed in it. Japan wasn't the titan it used to be in the past, and he was determined to change that. That's when he heard a knock on his door

"Get in.", He replied, seemingly disinterested.

"Is this the office of a certain… Masayoshi Shido?"

Shido grasped in surprise as he wasn't expecting the man behind the door to be who he was.

"Norman Osborn… what brings you here to Tokyo?"  
  


"A business meeting about a new Oscorp lab here in Japan… but also a meeting with you. However I wanted to make a deal with you. I want to help you with your campaign. Via donations and the usual."

"And in return?"

"I would like tax reductions on the Oscorp lab construction."

"Not interested."

"I thought you might say that. Which is why I have another offer to you. Ever heard of Cognitive psience?"

"......!", Shido gasped. "How do you know-"

"Think that Japan is the only country in the world that was researching it? Think again. For years Oscorp was hired by SHIELD to research what was found to be the combination of science and magic, cognition and reality, dream and matter. But then… came real magicians like Doctor Strange and real demons such as Ghost Rider. Then it all came apart. SHIELD stopped supporting our research, believing that changing ones cognition is useless compared to "real magic". But I've seen what you can do with cognition. And yes: I know you're the cause of the psychotic breakdowns and rare mental shutdowns to increase your political power and influence."

Shido gasped in surprise "How the hell do you know…?"

"A question for another day. But worry not my friend: I won't tell anyone about that."

"And why should I trust you?"  
  


"Because you and I are not so different. You know of Spider-Man and his villains correct?"

"Yes. But why that stupid question?"

"Because Oscorp created the tech that his rogue's gallery uses."

"Why would you creat super villains? It endangers the entire city!"  
  


"Yes, but Oscorp then fixes it. See what I mean?"  
  


"... I understand. Yes it's quite a smart idea. You know what Osborn? You got yourself a deal."

Both then shook hands as they now became "business" partners.


	16. Phantom Thieves: Threats or menaces?

"Who are the Phantom thieves? They're criminals that's who they are. A group of vigilantes, public menaces.", said J. Jonah Jameson.

"I still don't understand why you're so interested in a simple incident in Tokyo.", replied Peter. "I mean, it doesn't really seem like that much of a big deal. If anything this feels like a big coincidence."

"BIG COINCIDENCE!? Parker, in all my years as a journalist I've learned a very important lesson: There is no thing such as coincidence. There are patterns, points of origin, motivations! Which is something someone as smart as YOU should be able to realize! Then again, you think that Spider-Man isn't a menace and that he's some sort of superhero, so maybe you aren't as smart as you seem."

"Spider-Man is in fact a hero, but ok." Murmured Peter, extremely quietly.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!"

"UHMMM nothing sir, absolutely nothing! Anyways how did you like my pics?"

See, Jonah learned of the incident because he was looking at local news to make sure Peter was ok, since the psychotic breakdown incidents were happening often at the time and that had Jameson worried for him. That's when he saw an article about some prank, where people posted some form of calling cards on the school bulletin boards, which caught his attention. Since Peter was there at Shujin, JJ asked him to take pics of the calling cards.

"They were wonderful! I'll give you… 100 bucks for that!"

Peter starred at Jameson disappointedly

"Fine, 200 bucks at most. Is that fine to you?"

"I will take it! Nice making business with you."

"You are a freelance photographer that works for me, it is in no way in hell "business"".

"Close enough to me."

"Robbie! We got our new headline. Phantom Thieves: Threat or Menace?"

"I see that you're giving those Phantom Thieves the Spider-Man treatment."

"Well Parker, I consider all vigilantes the break the law to be equally criminal and menacingly." 

  
  


\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ren was about to go to sleep before getting bombarded with notifications on his phone

**Skull:** GUYS CHECK THIS SHIT OUT

He then sent a link to a Daily Bugle article

**Skull:** they're totally calling us heroes here!

**Joker:** bro it says that we are "threats or menaces"

**Skull:** ok, but who cares if people hate us, what matters is that people know of us! we're def gonna b famous now!!!

**Panther:** yeah, ppl know us as CRIMINALS you moron! how are people gonna trust us to change the hearts of criminals if they think we are also criminals? 

**Joker:** both ryuji and ann have a point, but rn i rly just wanna go to sleep ok? we can discuss this tomorrow while we look for a new target

And so both Ann and Ryuji agreed to let the subject rest for the night and to discuss it at another time.

  
  



	17. Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new calling card by the Phantom Thieves is found and Spider-Man deals with a hostage situation.

"Excuse me please.", said Peter, while his camera was in his hand. 

Peter recently learned that there was another calling card by the Phantom Thieves, which Peter thought that Jameson would enjoy knowing of it. It was in the art gallery and thrown in the ground, which people didn't really seemed interested in. There Peter read the card.

_ Sir Ichiryusai Madarame, a great sinner of vanity whose talent has been exhausted. You are an artist who uses his authority to shamelessly steal the ideas of his pupils. We have decided to make you confess all your crimes with your own mouth. We will take your distorted desires without fail. From, The Phantoms. _

"Ichiryusai Madarame? Isn't that guy like, a famous painter?", Peter thought to himself. "Why would the Phantom Thieves; Or now as they seem to be calling themselves, "The Phantoms", target some random painter?"

After taking the pictures, he wore his suit once again to go on patrol, until he found that a hostage situation was happening.

  
  


\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  
  


Hostage situations were always extremely tense for Peter, as his life wasn't the only one at play, so he had to be extremely sneaky with them. It was happening in the  Concordia Financial Group, Tokyo's largest bank.

Spider-Man sneaked into the bank by the air vents, and got out in the main lobby. From there he crawled among the walls. He saw one of the thugs was alone so he webbed them up in the wall without a single struggle. He then saw 2 more; but they were together. So he webbed a nearby wall to catch the attention of one of the criminals: which worked very much so. He then webbed one of them to the ceiling, dropped down without a sound, and took him down from behind.

He proceeded among the building, utilizing some of his various gadgets he had created for his webs, such as web trip mines and impact webbing. One thing that helped him was the police speaking with megaphones begging the criminals to let the hostages go, allowing Spidey to go slightly louder then he normally would. 

He took all of the criminals out stealthily, and untied the hostages allowing them to escape. But then something unexpected happened: An extremely muscular criminal appeared from one of the doors in the bank. And they had a minigun. Spider-Man quickly dodged all of their bullets… but then *BANG*! He got shot by 1 of them. He quickly realized this and webbed up the criminal with his taser webs, knocking them out almost instantly. 

Spider-Man then quickly swung over to his temporary home, as the hostage situation took quite a long time to deal with and it was late at night by the time he had dealt with it. He got to the rooftop of the apartment complex, and quickly got down while undressing.   
  
He then headed to the kitchen to take off the bullet from his body with a knife.

"Ugh!", exclaimed Peter.

"Peter-kun, is that you?", Makoto said, extremely tired. "It's like, 1 in the morning, what are you doing in the kitchen?", she then turned on the lights and gasped almost instantly to what she was seeing.

"You know I was gonna say that I can totally explain this, while not telling you the truth… but let's be fair there is no explaining this without telling you the truth.", Peter said, sarcastically.

  
  



	18. A whole bunch of explaining to do

"Soooooo… yeah. I'm Spider-Man.", Peter said, with a forced grin in his head.

"So… all these times you said you were saying that you were "exploring around Tokyo"... you were being Spiderman?!"

"Ok, first of all it's Spider-Man, and second of all, I technically was still exploring Tokyo, just not on a ground level, and more on a "swinging among the skyscrapers" level."

"How do you still manage to crack jokes even at such a tense situation? And how can you tell when one pronounces your name without the hyphen?"

"Force of habit and by how fast people pronounce my name respectively."

"Oh god the guy who's been living with me for a month has been secretly a superhero this whole time!", murmured Makoto. "What the hell should I do?"

"Uhm, don't tell anyone that I'm Spider-Man? Please? Pretty please?"

"Ok, sure. I know the whole "secret identity thing" is really important and all. But… why? Why do you put yourself at risk of dying everyday to save people? It's noble, yes… but you are gonna get yourself killed someday, you know?   
  


"You sure you wanna know? My story is not exactly for the faint of heart."

"Yes, I wanna know! Now go clean this blood, while I cauterize your wound."

Afterwards, both of them headed to Peter's room.

"So, tell me everything of how and why you became Spider-Man."

"Ok. It all started at a faithful day, in a faithful visit to an Oscorp Lab in Manhattan. There I was, with my 3 best friends in the world: Mary Jane Watson, Harry Osborn and Gwen Stacy. We saw a whole bunch of stuff, but most importantly a group of genetically modified spiders and a radiation based technology test. But one of the genetic modified spiders escaped, and got to the rays of radiation during an isolated thermonuclear reaction… and then it bit me. The radiation made it combine my DNA with it's genetically modified one, which gave me super powers. And that's basically the how of the question."

"So then you decided to use your powers for good, and decided to become Spider-Man, is that correct?"

"Uhm, not exactly. See, my Uncle and Aunt had some extremely difficult financial issues. And I wanted to help them. So I saw an ad for a wrestling match challenge against a certain wrestler name "Bonesaw" and I decided to sign up, since the reward of 5 thousand dollars seemed to be helpful for my aunt and uncle. I made the super colorful suit you see me wear, and I fought him. And as I expected my powers helped me beat him with ease. After wards I came to collect the money… but the guy responsible for giving it out was greedy and only gave me 100 bucks since "I beated Bonesaw too early". But then karma hit him and he got robbed. And the robber passed right through me… but decided not to since it didn't seem like my problem, and wanted revenge against him. Then I heard reports of a man being shot in a nearby street… and that man was my uncle Ben. He got shot there, because he was gonna give me a ride home after he thought I was at the library studying. Then I heard that someone was in his car escaping the scene. So I putted on my costume, chased him, and cornered him in some abandoned warehouse. And that's when I found out that the same man that killed my uncle was the robber I allowed to get away. And all I wanted to do was to kill him right there and there, and make him suffer as much as he made me. But then… I remember some words that my uncle Ben used to say. He used to say that "with great power, there must also always come great responsibility". Now, I never knew what that meant until that faithful moment. And so I spared the criminal, and promised that for now on I would never use my powers for self-gain, and only use them for good. Because you don't help people because you're the only one that can do the things you do; you do it because it's the right thing."

And so tears began to drop from Peter's eyes. Memories from his uncle perhaps? But then Makoto decided to hug him. Beforehand if Makoto found out that Peter was Spider-Man she would've told Sae and anyone that wanted to know about. But after that moment she discovered more about the secrets we share and why it's so important to keep them safe… because with great power there must also always come great responsibility.

  
  



	19. The day afterwards

Peter's alarm woke him up, but he gasped and blushed at the sight of which he saw. There she was: Makoto Nijima on his bed side, hugging him… while he was in his underwear, which was what he sometimes wore while asleep. But she seemed to share a similar feeling to him as she screamed in surprise, was blushing and completely flustered at his sight.

"OH GOD UHMMMM… WE DIDN'T _DO_ ANYTHING LAST NIGHT DID WE?!"

"THE LAST THING I REMEMBER WAS YOU HUGGING ME! ANYTHING AFTERWARDS IS COMPLETELY BLACKED OUT IN MY MEMORY SO DON'T ASK ME ABOUT THAT KIND OF STUFF!"

"Ugh, first the Spider-Man thing, now this? What's next, me becoming a Phantom Thief?"

"Hey I think you would make for a pretty good one!"

"We don't even know how they operate, how can you make such judgements?"

"By guessing I guess."

"I'm gonna go see if sis saw us while we were asleep. Hopefully I can explain to her that nothing meaningful that doesn't evolve superheroing happened last night, because if she thinks we're dating, she's gonna kill us."

And so Makoto left Peter's room, while he dressed himself up.

"Ok good news: Sis left early and she didn't saw us together. She put a note here saying that she had to leave early due to work."

They were both alleviated by that piece of information, and Peter decided to spend his sunday with Makoto. And her knowing that he was Spider-Man it made having to leave due to superhero issues much easier.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like seeing characters blush and get all flustered. It makes me happy :)


	20. The Peter Parker confidant

Ever since Ren's fight against Madarame, a feeling of anxiousness took over in the sky for the Phantom Thieves. This was only their second heist after all, and the recent news of someone else invading palaces; someone who wore a "black mask", certainly did not help. But the time until the change of heart did allow him to safely hang out with his friends and start new relationships, such as with Yusuke, the newest addition of The Phantoms, and gave him some time for him to build of his guts, in order to finally ask the guy in the Airsoft shop what was in that bag he gave him.

It was a fine saturday after school, just a few days before the school trip. There he decided to hang out with someone who he already had met before, but only talked once: The transfer student from New York, Peter Parker

"Hey man.", said Ren to Peter. "Are you free today?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"I was thinking of… I don't know. Just spending some time with you, you know?"

"Yeah sure! Should be fun."

And so the two boys headed over to Leblanc where they entered the not very popular coffee shop.

"Sooooo… this is the joint you live in?" Asked Peter.

"Correction: The joint that is below where I live."

"So you live in the attic?"

"Correct."

"That sounds awful."

"Come on, it's not THAT bad. Anyways… wanna a taste of our trademarked coffee?"

"Sure why not. I like coffee anyway."

And so Ren prepared a cup of coffee for him, using the same old recipe Sojiro taught him.

"Wow this is… really good! I'm impressed!"

"I'm glad you liked it Parker-san!"

"Please, all my friends call me Pete."

They then heard the doorbell, as someone entered Leblanc. A somewhat old man with black hair and a goatee.

"What are you doing there kid?" Asked Sojiro, somewhat worried.

"I'm just making some coffee for a classmate of mine. That's all."

"And is this "classmate like your boyfriend or something."

Ren got taken by surprised by this comment while Peter spilled his coffee. Both got super flustered by it and started to blush really red.

"UHMM WE ONLY MET RECENTLY, UHMMM… WHAT'S YOUR NAME AGAIN?" Asked Peter, worryingly.

"It's Sojiro Sakura, and relax, I was just joking. No need to get all awkward."

"First Makoto, now this? Jesus christ, it's like the universe really wants me to date someone." Murmured Peter.

"What was that with Makoto-senpai?" Asked Ren, curious as to what had happened with her and Peter.

"Oh it was nothing! Absolutely nothing."

"Ok I'm gonna go for a smoke and leave you two kids alone for now.", Sojiro told both of them. "Hey, don't touch anything you don't know how to use, you hear me?"

"Loud and clear boss, loud and clear."

"Hey… thanks for the coffee."

"You're welcome Pete!"

"No seriously, thanks man. Look, if you ever need help in like, science homework, or english, I can totally help you out!"

"Muahahaha!" Chuckled Morgana in Ren's bag.

"What is it?" Whispered Ren to Morgana.

"Think about it! Peter's knowledge of science would be perfect for the Phantom Thieves!"

"I see."

"Huh, dude? Who are you talking too?"

Ren then realized he said his "I see" out loud.

"Oh, uhmmm, it was nothing! Anyways it's getting pretty late."

"Oh yeah! And again, thanks for the coffee! Super delicious!"

And so Peter left Leblanc to once again go on patrol as Spider-Man.

  
  



	21. The school trip

As most people, Peter normally hates mondays. But this time it was different, as that monday was the school trip to Inokashira Park, where they would clean it up, which made Peter excited, as he missed going on walks with his friends on central park. And so Peter dressed up the school's cleanup and headed over for the park. He was one of the first people there, with Makoto (who he went with), Dr. Maruki, and some other staff members and students. There he went on a short walk through the park, being mesmerized at its beauty, and how it was still somehow much shorter then Central Park. Afterwards, a lot more students showed up, and Makoto made an announcement in the megaphone.

"Good morning, Shujin Academy students and staff… Please pick up all trash located in the areas assigned to your group. Once the cleanup is completed, a lunch of miso soup with pork and vegetables will be served." 

Afterwards he did just what she told him to do: He joined his group and started collecting trash. And it was amazing the amounts of stuff people throw away. Hell, he even saw a Spider-Plushie under a bench. But as he approached it to collect it, he bumped heads with a fellow one of his groupmates.

"Ouch! Oops, sorry! Didn't mean too!"

"No, it's ok! It was just an accident after all!", said the seemingly nice pink-ish fluffy haired student. "Wait… do you happen to be that transfer student from New York?"

"Yup. Peter Parker. And you are…?"

"Oh, my name is Haru Okumura."

"Okumura? I think I heard that name before."

"Oh. That is because my father, Kunikazu Okumura, is the CEO of Okumura foods. You probably heard of Big Bang Burger didn't you? Well, that is owned my Okumura foods."

"Oh Big Bang Burger! I remember that there was a joint back in Manhattan. It was kind of tasty!"

"I am very glad you enjoyed it Parker-kun! Anyways, would you mind giving me that Spider-Man plushie?"

"Sure! Why though?"

"It's because I know of a place that restores plushies, and I wanted them to restore this one to give it to an orphanage that needs toy donations."

"Nice! Very noble!"

And so Peter gave Haru the Spider-Plushie. The rest of the day wasn't easy: And he decided not to eat the soup as it had pork in it and he was jewish, which means he couldn't eat it.

"Really Pete? I didn't know that.", said Maruki, who helped to prepare the soup.

"Nah, its  _ bupkis!",  _ replied Peter happily. 

And then finally, the cleanup ended, and everyone went back to their homes. Peter was super tired afterwards, so he didn't even went on patrol, and instead he just wanted to sleep.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, this version of Peter Parker is in fact jewish, but I am not jewish myself, so I had to look up some yiddish expressions online to have Peter say later. So for all my jewish readers, if I ever get something wrong, please let me know in the comments. (bupkis means nothing btw, or at least thats what google said)


	22. The tv studio trip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter Parker and other Shujin studios go to a local tv station for a school trip

And so, may ended, and june began, which was made clear by the change into the summer school uniforms. And the first most important event of the month was the social studies trip to a local tv station, which Peter had signed up for. And he was expecting it to be somewhat exciting… except it wasn't. The first day was ridiculously boring. All he did was hear some PR lady explain the basic workings of television (which he already knew and understood), like how sponsorships, scheduling and editing worked. And on top of that he was asked by Ren to help him and Ryuji to untangle some cables, which he said yes to since Peter wasn't an asshole. Though it wasn't much different then untangling webs, it was still extremely annoying.

But it was on the second day of the trip where things got a bit more interesting, as the Shujin Students would be a part of the audience of the broadcasting of a tv program. The program itself would be an interview with none other then Goro Akechi, a famous high school detective, with crimson eyes like Makoto, and a brown mullet type hair, wearing a full detective outfit. And people applauded when he first appeared.

"And now, onto the "Hottest Meet-and-Greet" segment of our show…", said a cute, female announcer. "After his last appearance was so well received, we decided to bring back this fine gentleman today. It's the high school detective Goro Akechi!"

"Hello there." Said Akechi, smiling.

"Thank you for taking the time to join us today, Akechi-kun. Your popularity is stunning." Said a cheerful, male host. 

"Even I've found it to be quite a surprise. It is a bit embarrassing though...", said Akechi.

"Moving along, we've been told there's a case on your mind right now. Care to share, detective?"

Ah, yes. That would be the scandal involving the master artist Madarame."

"There it is! All of this phantom thief excitement has caught your attention too, Akechi-kun! Allow me to be blunt for just a second. What do you think of these justice-oriented Phantom Thieves?"

"If they truly are heroes of justice, I sincerely hope they exist."

"Ohh, so you don't deny the possibility that they're real?"

"I may not seem like it, but sometimes I wish that Santa Claus actually existed. Although if he did, I'd have to arrest him for breaking and entering."

People then laughed at Akechi's joke, which boggled Peter's mind, as he thought that his jokes as Spider-Man were much better and funnier.

"But hypothetically speaking, if these Phantom Thieves are real… I believe they should be tried in a court of law."

"That's quite the statement. Are they committing crimes? Some people even say that the Thieves are actually helping their victims abandon their evil ways."

"What the artist Madarame did truly was an unforgivable crime. However, they are taking the law into their own hands, by judging him. It is far from justice. More importantly, you should never forcefully change a person's heart."

"You have a point. These people are calling themselves the Phantom Thieves, after all. Amazing as always, Akechi-kun! I could listen to you for days! You have the most radiant charisma!"

"I have to say though, I would be embarrassed if it turns out these Phantom Thieves don't exist. If that were the case, I'd summarize it into a report as a school project."

"Now then, let's try asking some students the same age as Akechi-kun about the Phantom Thieves! First, please press your button now if you think the Phantom Thieves exist!"

Then a number lighted up on a screen behind the host, announcer and Akechi. And that number was 17.

"About 30% of the audience. What are your thoughts, Akechi-kun?"

"I'm a bit surprised. That's higher than I was expecting. I'd love to hear some more detailed opinions on the Phantom Thieves' actions."

The cute announcer then got out of her chair, and started looking for students. She then chose Ren.

"All right, let's try asking this student here. Hypothetically speaking, what are your thoughts on these Phantom Thieves, if they were real?"  
  


"They do more then the cops." Replied Ren.

"Haha, I wasn't expecting that.", Akechi said, smiling.

"This completely goes against the opinion you had about them being tried by law, Akechi-kun."

"Indeed. It's rather intriguing to hear such a strong acknowledgement. In that case, there's one more question I'd like to ask… If someone close to you, for example, your friend next to you… If his heart suddenly changed… wouldn't you think it was the work of the Phantom Thieves?" 

"What would **you** think?" Replied Ren.

"Ah, throwing the question back at me? Well, this is my opinion on the topic. Whether the Thieves' actions are good or not, I feel there is a more important issue at hand."

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"The matter of how they change people's hearts. If they honestly possess that ability… it could be used for more than extracting confessions. It could be that what seem to be ordinary crimes are actually being perpetrated by these methods..." Said Akechi, from what seemed by Peter to be from… personal experience?

"You know, you're absolutely right."

"Oh, please don't misunderstand. This is all purely hypothetical… It is only **if** people who can use such a power truly exist. Either way though, this cannot be ignored. The existence of the Phantom Thieves would be nothing but a threat to our everyday lives. To be honest, I'm already working alongside the police to help sort out this matter."

"What about Spider-Man, Akechi? What do you think of him?" Asked Peter, curious to what the crimson eyed brunette detective thought of his superhero work.

"I'm sorry, but asking this sort of question out of nowhere is quite ru-"

No, wait.", Akechi interrupted the announcer. "His question is actually quite interesting. Uhm, which student was the one that asked me?"

"It was me actually.", said Peter. "Peter Parker. Midtown High student enrolled in the Shujin Academy student exchange program."

"Oh. So unlike most people here, you actually must already be quite familiar with Spider-Man's actions. Is that correct?"

"Actually I'm kind of Spidey's official photographer for the Daily Bugle, since I'm sort of the only one skilled enough to take pictures of him, so yeah!"

"I see. Well, back to your question of what I think of Spider-Man. Well let's start with some facts: Firstly, unlike with the Phantom Thieves, we can actually confirm his existence, as he has already been operating for quite a few years. Secondly, he doesn't seem as malicious as the Phantom Thieves. After all, he's just another superhero, with his own super powers.

"So you think of Spider-Man as a hero, Akechi-kun?" Asked the host.

"No, far from it. I think that he, while not a menace as others call him, is a coward, who runs away from the consequence of his actions."

This statement was a major surprise for everyone in the audience, including Peter.

"What do you mean by this?" Asked the host.

"Well for starters, unlike other superheroes like Iron Man and the Fantastic Four… he doesn't show us his identity and hides behind a mask. Another thing is that ever since he showed up, more supervillains have appeared in New York, such as Electro or Rhino, who caused massive amounts of property damage. And I'm in no way saying that he was the one behind their creation, but instead that he inspires more people to dress up in colorful outfits and cause mayhem for attention. And I am also not saying that all he does is bad; He obviously has done a lot of good things too. But if he truly wanted to help, he should just unmask himself and sign up for the police force. That way he can do good things while being constantly checked on what he's doing by the law."

"Oy vey!", Peter thought to himself. _"He's just like JJ, but younger! And prettier!"_

"That was quite the speech Akechi-kun!" The host told the teenage detective. "Anyways, let's do a new test. Press the button right now if you think that Spider-Man is in fact a true hero!"

And so everyone pressed the button, and this time the number that lit up this time was a whopping 50.

"Wow!" Exclaimed the host. "That's almost the entire audience! What do you think Akechi-kun?"

"This was also much higher then what I was expecting. But I guess it does make sense, as so far Tokyo citizens have only seen footage of Spider-Man. But now that he's here in Tokyo, and depending how long he stays, it wouldn't surprise me if this number drastically dropped. Anyways what do you think Parker-san? Do you believe that Spider-Man is a hero?"

"Well, I think that he's the most admirable superhero in New York, you know? Like, he doesn't care about what people think, and always finds a way to get back up, no matter how much the odds are against him. To me, that is **super** powerful."

And so the host and announcer asked a few more questions to Akechi and the show ended. But as Peter was leaving the studio he got interrupted by the crimson eyed detective.

"Hey! I wanted to talk to you, Parker-san."

"What is it?"

"I wanted to thank you personally, like I did the student who thought that the Phantom thieves were heroes."

"Ok but… why would you do that?"  
  


"Well, to paraphrase Hegel-"

"Advancement cannot occur without both thesis and antithesis. That's how the phrase goes isn't it?" 

"Yes, that is correct. Wow, I'm impressed you knew that!"

"Well, I do take philosophy class in school."

"Anyways would mind sharing me your contact info? Our discussion was quite meaningful, and I would love if we debated more."

"... look, you could just ask me to be your friend, without asking me to be a part of your little debate club of yours."

"Ha! Very funny Parker! Sure, we can be more then "members of my debate club" and be friends if you would like to." Akechi replied, amusingly.

And so Peter left the tv station with a friendship forming that he never thought would happen.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is arguably the longest chapter yet and also the introduction of the ever loved Goro Akechi! And fun fact, his English voice, Robbie Daymond actually voiced Spider-Man in the Marvel's Spider-Man cartoon and Marvel vs Capcom Infinite! And probably more stuff I forgot about. However his voice is not the one that I intended for Peter, as that is actually Josh Keaton and Yuri Lowenthal! (I alternate between both of them depending on the situation)


	23. Discoveries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Makoto finds something out about the Phantom Thieves.

It was gonna be a normal day at school where nothing interesting or new would happen. Or at least that is what Ren thought.

"Oh good, you haven't gone home yet.", said Kawakami. "Niijima-san's looking for you. Could you head to the student council room right away? She says there's no report of a lost item, so she wants you to start filling out some paperwork."

"I don't want to." Ren replied.

"Just go. If you don't, they'll come and complain to me about it. The student council room is on the third floor, next to the library. Got it?"

But as Kawakami left he heard her mumble something about why did she had to run errands for a student. And so Ren went to the students council room, following the instructions given to him by Kawakami. And as he entered the room he saw Makoto by the table.

"Ah. Earlier than expected.", she said. "...Have a seat."

"I'll get straight to the point.", Makoto told Ren. "Mr. Kamoshida and Madarame. Won't you tell me the truth behind the Phantom Thieves' incidents?"

This caught Ren and Morgana very much by surprise.

"Can't answer that? Ah, of course. There's no way you would admit to such things. Here. Have a listen."

She then pulled a phone from her pockets and played an audio.

"If someone else could help 'em, we wouldn't be doin' stuff as the Phantom Thieves to start with!"

"So you think it's true? We'll be okay if we keep doing this… right?"

Those voices were from Ryuji and Ann respectively.

"...What could all this mean?" Asked Makoto, in a somewhat sarcastic fashion.

"We screwed up..." Commented Morgana.

"Was it blackmail? Hypnosis? How do you corner someone into making them confess? Won't you tell me how you did it?"

"Ask the culprits." Replied Ren.

"...You want to say that this doesn't prove anything, don't you? I believe that you three are the Phantom Thieves."

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After more than a month of following Ren around Makoto finally had what she wanted: A member of the Phantom Thieves cornered in her room, with her fully knowing the true identity of one of their own. All she had to do was to threaten to tell the police about it and she would have him in the palm of her hand. Yet when she was gonna say it, she remember something. She remembered the night she found out Peter was Spider-Man and how she promised him not to tell anyone about it. Makoto then felt awful about what she was about to do, feeling like a total hypocrite. And after some time, she finally said something.

"...Look, don't try to lie to me. We both heard the audio. And don't worry: I'm not gonna tell anyone about it."

"Why?" Ren asked, seemingly confused.

"Because I once discovered a secret of a friend of mine, and I promised him I would not tell anyone about it."

But then Ren's phone rang.

"Go ahead.", Makoto told Ren. "But put it on speakerphone."

Ren then answered the phone only to be greeted by Ryuji's voice.

"Hey, where you at? Takin' a leak? Let's meet up at the usual spot to hold our Phantom Thieves meetin'!"

"As loud as always… but his timing's perfect. I'd like everyone else to hear this as well. Won't you take me to your friends?"

"Ok fine. But remember what you told me about how you said you're not telling anyone about our identities."

And so both Ren and Makoto went together to the Phantom Thieves hideout on the Shibuya Walkway.

"Wh-What the hell?" Ryuji asked, confused as to what was Makoto doing there.

"What's the meaning of this?" Ann also asked, just as confused as him.

"I had him lead me here.", Answered Makoto. "Ryuji Sakamoto, Ann Takamaki… And you're Kitagawa-kun, correct? Second-year at Kosei High and former pupil of Madarame? I wanted to ask you all about this."

Makoto then proceeded to play the audio she played to Ren back in the student council room.

"An extremely similar technique was used for both Kamoshida and Madarame… While those affected by their acts were just coincidentally meeting up… How could that  **not** raise suspicions"

"What do you intend to do?", Yusuke finally spoke up. "Have you come just to say you're going to report us?"

"I bet someone told you to find us. The school can't have ties to criminals, after all! And yet they turn a blind eye when it comes to suicide and sexual harassment.", Ann scolded her. "Those adults are just using you. I feel sorry for you."

"...I… I know..."

"Huh?"

"That's why I would like to verify the justice you speak of."

"What?" Asked Ryuji, confused.

"I can promise you that I won't report you for the police nor the school. I just need you to do one thing for me. A just thing. See, there is someone whose heart I'd like you to change."

"Who?"

"Hm, so you're not saying it's impossible. However… I cannot tell you that just yet. Let's continue our talk after tomorrow. On the roof."

"Wait, wait, hold on. If you told us that you ain't gonna be reportin' us to the police, then why would we change this someones heart?"

"Because as a friend of mine once told me, with great power..."

"There must also come great responsibility. That was Pete, right?"

"Technically it was his uncle who said that, but yes you are correct. He also told me that you don't do good things because you might be the only one who can do great things. You do it because you  **can** ."

And so Makoto left, that the Phantom Thieves headed over to a local restaurant in Shibuya to talk about their current predicament. There they decided that they would help Makoto, as despite there not being any risks in not helping her, it was still the right thing to do.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter goes different then the game, as instead of threatening the phantom thieves that she would call the police, instead Makoto persuades them with Peter's words, as I thought it would be out of character for her to do what she did in the game after promising Peter to keep his secret, well, a secret. Anyways, I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter!


	24. Awakening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter starts to question where has Makoto been to during the past few days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's funny how this has been my absolute favorite chapter to write, and its also the 24th, which is my favorite number ever. Don't ask me why.

Makoto never thought that this would happen. Ever since she was asked to investigate the Phantom Thieves by Principal Kobayakawa, she always imagined her capturing the Phantom Thieves, so the principal would leave her and her sister alone. And yet there she was, fighting alongside them, with her new codename, Queen in Kaneshiro's own palace, fighting against shadows with the power of her brass knuckles, revolver and her own persona, Johanna. And it felt **good**. Being able to go wild on the enemy shadows felt great. The Phantom Thieves were close to Kaneshiro's treasure… but then something showed up on a screen.

"Stop. Right. There." Said Kaneshiro's shadow, with his purple face and yellow pupils. 

"Why would we stop? We're super close to your treasure. I can feel it!" Replied Morgana, with his usual excitement caused by Phantom Thieving.

"Oh really? Then what will happen with your little friend?"

And so Kaneshiro moved out of way to show someone filled with bruises and bleeding.

"Oh god!" Gasped Queen.

"It's… it's Pete!" Exclaimed Joker.

"Wanna see his demise? Head to this location on the map." And so Kaneshiro got replaced by the map of the bank, with a dot in what was presumably his location.

  
  


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_2 hours earlier_

Makoto has been acting weird. Ever since Sae lashed out at her due to work stress it seemed like she's been getting herself into trouble. It was like every time Peter wanted to hang out with her she was occupied with something. This worried him, as he was currently looking for a rumored mafia boss that was apparently blackmailing students into smuggling drugs. But then one day, when Peter was walking in the Shibuya walkway, he noticed her with an interesting group. She was with Ren, Ann, Ryuji and some boy with blue hair whose name Peter didn't know. But as he approached them, something weird happened. What he was seeing started to become swirly and twisted. And before he realized he was back in Shibuya… except it was different. It felt as if there was a green filter around him. But he then quickly realized that he wasn't the only one there. As he then saw that close to him was a group of people,which Peter quickly webbed away from. Fortunately they didn't seem to have seen Peter. 

But he then stopped to look at them from the safe distance of a nearby building and looked at their outfits. One had a long coat with a domino mask, another looked like the type of thug Peter would beat as Spider-Man, one looked like a pink dominatrix, one a ninja, another like a post apocalyptic girl and the last looked like a cartoon monster cat. But they then went up a ramp to what seemed like a flying building in the sky. Peter then thought of what he should do… but then he started to ask himself where was Makoto and the rest of the people with her. That's when he connected the dots and came to a realization.

"The post apocalyptic girl… was that Makoto?"

Peter then stayed on the side of the building for a while, being completely shocked. But after some time he finally decided to go to that flying building. He then dressed himself up as Spider-Man, and slingshotted himself to the flying building. There he entered said building and realize it was actually a bank. 

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE INTRUDER?!" Said what seemed to be a very tall guard.

"Actually I'm just looking for a certain someone. It was a girl who looked like she came from some post-apocalyptic desert. She was with some monster cat and some other people, know where they are?"

"You mean the Phantom Thieves?"

This hit Peter like a truck. At first glanced he didn't believe it, and was ready to clap back with a quippy comment… but then he thought about it. He thought about how Ren was a part of the costumed group. Same with Ann, and Ryuji. And so everything started to make sense. Why Ren would often disappear from the school with Ann and Ryuji, how Makoto was suddenly not available to hang out with. But he got so caught up in his train of thought, he didn't notice the punch he was about to receive, despite his Spider-Sense warning him of it, and ended up getting knocked out.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  
  


_Present day_

"PETER!" Cried Makoto.

"Ma-Makoto…? Is that… you?" Peter said, quietly.

He was laying down on the ground as everytime he got up one of the guards attacked him and put him down again.

"Ah. I see you've finally made it.", said Kaneshiro. Despite not seeing his face, he could tell he was smiling. And then he heard a loud _SLAM_. In the small door to the room he was in, some grades came up, locking the Phantom Thieves out of the room. "Now you can finally see the demise of this poor schmuck."

"DAMMIT!", exclaimed Ryuji. "He locked us out- wait a sec, why is Peter wearin' a Spider-Man costume?" He asked surprised, as the quality of the screen they saw was surprisingly low quality.

"Haven't you figure it out yet, dumbass? Why don't you spell it out for them, Pete?"

"..."

"I said, SPELL IT OUT!" Kaneshiro then kicked Peter.

"I'm… I'm Spider-Man."

"You know, it's funny how someone as pathetic as you got to be the "amazing" Spider-Man. Then again, what gave you your powers was just some accident on a school trip."

"......!?" Gasped Peter, as Mary Jane and Makoto were the only ones who knew of Peter's secret. Or at least the ones who he told them about.

"You know, it's no wonder your uncle died! Hell if I was **your** uncle, I would've killed myself if my niece was such a failure!"

"Stop! You're hurting him!" Said Ann, angrily.

"You are just a cowardly, greedy criminal! You have no saying on who is a failure and who is not one!" Exclaimed Yusuke.

"Shut up both of you. Anyways, kill the kid now guard. And make it very brutal. We gotta put up a show for these Phantom Thieves."

And so Kaneshiro approached a painel, placed his hand on it and opened up a secret elevator, of which he got down from it. 

All this phrases hurt Peter a lot. Specially since well, he agreed with them. Him being Spider-Man was just an accident on a school trip, and he was in fact a failure. Or at least that's what he thought of. And so he closed his eyes, accepting his fate.

_"Are you truly giving in to the forces of evil? Is this truly the end of the line for you?"_ Said a voice in Peter's head.

"Huh? Who… who **are** you?"

_"I am what you would call your true self. But answer my question. Is this truly the end for you?"_

"...no."

_"Good. Then let us form a contract together."_

Peter then felt pain he's never felt before, almost as if his head would explode.

_"I am thou. Thou art I. And we are tired of irresponsible adults punishing the innocent. And I shall give thou my power to help thou punish them who dare to cross the path of the innocents thou sweared to protect.",_ as he heard this speech, a mask appeared on Peter's face. And he knew he had to remove it. _"So scream my name, and let us punish those who are irresponsible with their power!"_

As Peter removed his mask he suffered even more pain. And as he finally took it off his face was full of blood. Yet after wards a pillar of blue flame rose, and something summoned next to him. Said thing was some sort of giant spider with a face, and with swords of each of its hands. His clothes also changed, with him wearing some sort of hoodie on top of the top part of his Spider-Man suit, while he wore jeans. His gloves also became fingerless, with a web pattern, and his shoes became boots that also had a web pattern. He also noticed he was carrying nunchucks, and that there was a crossbow on his back.

But the pain was gone, and instead it got replaced with a feeling. A feeling of power, that he could do anything, and that no one would stop him. The only similar time he felt something like it was back when he wore the black suit, but even then the power came from the symbiote and it influenced him to do bad things. Yet this power felt his own, and incorruptible… like the spirit of rebellion.

"Yes… lend me your power… Anansi!" Exclaimed Peter, ready for absolutely anything.

  
  



	25. Will power

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter awakens to a new found power

"Holy effin' shit!" Exclaimed Skull. 

"So he has the potential too." Mona pointed out.

As Peter awakened to his persona, none of the Phantom Thieves could believe what was happening. Not only was one of Queen's and Joker's friend secretly a superhero (though to Queen that wasn't much of a surprise), but he also had a persona. And the way he used was not too shabby either, nor was his skills with nunchucks and his crossbow. As Peter defeated the shadows, he then opened the passageway out of the room, by lifting the bars. After that he dropped down on his knees, as awakening to ones persona is quite tiring.

"Ok, can someone explain to me what the hell just happened? And why do I look like a combination of Spider-Man and a common criminal?"

"We'll give you answers once we get out of here Pete." Joker replied.

And so they all left the palace and headed to the restaurant in Shibuya. There they answered Peter's questions, such as what was that he summoned, what are palaces, what are shadows, etc.

"Wow, just wow that is a  **lot** to take in."

"I know right?", said Ryuji. "And yet Morgana always complains when I forget about something."

"Morgana is the cat right?"

"For the billionth time, I am  **NOT** a cat!"

"I mean, you look like one. And before I entered this so called "Metaverse" you sounded just like a ca-"

"Don't even try, it's no use. Trust us." Said Ann.

"Ok, but that doesn't answer why I look like part criminal part superhero."

"That is probably because the public's cognition is divided between believing that you are a hero and a menace. It's the same reason why, say Ryuji's Phantom Thief attire makes him look like a punk."

"Ok but Ryuji is sort of a punk, while I'm just a superhero."

"Hey I heard that!"

"Another good example would be how Mogana can transform himself into a bus in mementos.", explained Makoto. "But I wanted to ask you something Pete..."

"What is it?"

"Are you not mad at me? For lying to you about being a Phantom Thief?"

"Mad? How could I be? I also lied to you about not being Spider-Man, so it would be pretty hypocritical of me to feel as such towards you. Specially since… well… I'm kind of one of you guys now."

"You are?"

"Of course he is Ryuji!", scolded Ann. "But now we need to give you a codename."

"Codename? What's that?"

"It is a special name we give ourselves in order to conceal our identities while in palaces.", Yusuke explained. "For example, I'm Fox, Ren is Joker, Makoto is Queen, Morgana is Mona, Ann is Panther and Ryuji is Skull."

"Why don't we let Ren decide mine? I'm sure it's gonna be a good pick."

"Hummmm, what about Einstein?" Said Ren.

"Hahaha, very funny. Wait I got it! Since codenames are just alternate names for ourselves to keep our identities in secret… why not have mine just be Spider-Man?"

"Honestly? That actually kind of works." Noted Ann

"I agree. It will definitely be easy to memorize too."

"So it's decided! Peter's Phantom Thief name will be Spider-Man!"

And so all of the Phantom Thieves celebrated their newest addition to their team.

  
  



	26. The Peter Parker confidant pt. 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just as a heads up this chapter is a bit shorter then the last few. but don't worry, next one will be just as big as the two before this one

"Yo." Peter told Ren.

"Hey."

"I wanna show you something. Come here."

Ren and Peter both headed over to a certain room in the school.

"What is this place?"

"This, my friend, is the school's laboratory."

"But I thought that only teachers were allowed to use it out of class."

"Well, normal students can't. But the super genius honor transfer student can use it as he pleases."

"Ok cool, but why did you call me here."

"Because, with the power of chemistry, I can create formulas that are able to affect shadows in the metaverse."

"Wait really?"

"Yes my dear Morgana. They can be all sorts of effects, like brainwashing, confusing and more. Basically all mental ailments you can think of. But..."

"And there's always a "but""

"...I'll need you to get me some materials first, or you to pay me so I can buy said materials. It's your call really."

"I see. Well thanks for the tip Pete!"

"Wait. There's something I wanted to ask Morgana. Something I forgot to ask on my day of… let's just say the day of my innauguration as a Phantom Thief. Since Kaneshiro's shadow knows I'm Spider-Man… does that mean that the real Kaneshiro knows that too?"

"No. See, despite shadows being ones true self, what they experience in palaces doesn't carry over to the real world, unless it's a change of heart that is triggered by stealing ones treasure."

"So my identity is safe? Good to know."

The 2 boys and non-cat then left the room and went to do their own things.

  
  



	27. Take your heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter and Makoto partake on their first heist.

"I guess we should change the calling card..." Ryuji said.

There was only a little bit more then a week left before Kaneshiro would leak the pictures. So they had to send it sooner rather then later.

"Now the question is, how do we deliver the calling card to him…?" Yusuke spoke.

"Yeah, we don't know where he lives..." Said Ann, frowing.

"Wait… I have a crazy idea that might just work."

And so Peter explained his plan of what to do with the calling card. Afterwards the Phantom Thieves headed home. 

"Hum, Peter?" Asked Makoto.

"What's up?"

"I wanted to ask you a question."

"What is it?"

"It's that… why are you helping us steal Kaneshiro's heart? You're not in the pictures he took of us in that club. So why help us?"

"Because it's the right thing to do. Now c'mon: We gotta a calling card to make."

And so both met up with Yusuke, and together made Kaneshiro's calling card. It ended up being like this:

_ Sir Junya Kaneshiro, the money-devouring sinner of gluttony. You indulge in scamming others with horrendous methods that target minors exclusively. We have decided to make you confess all your crimes with your own mouth. We will take your distorted desires without fail. From, The Phantoms and your friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man... _

And then came the time to send the calling card, which is where Peter's crazy idea would come to play. But it was quite simple really: Make multiple webs among the Shibuya buildings with a bunch of calling cards on each web line. Which to none of the Phantom Thieves's surprise, he did it without failure.

  
  


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The next day was the day of the big heist, and Peter was extremely nervous. After all, he's never done anything like this before. Of course, he'd already fought against dangerous criminals in the past, but this was something entirely different. But he wasn't the only one nervous however, as so was Makoto. So much so that they held hands during lunchtime to calm each other down. Except that not only that didn't really help them, but it also made them extremely flustered, and led to them be blushing as red as a tomato the entire time.

But then came the time for the heist. And so all of the Phantom thieves assembled to Kaneshiro's palace. There they followed the route they made to his treasure. But he was in the treasure room, so they had to fight him. And it seemed like Kaneshiro took the "fly guy" expression way too serious, as he literally became some form of a human fly. But fighting just him was easy; No, the real challenge was fighting his Piggytron robot. But together with the power of their weapons and personas, they were able to beat him. 

"Kaneshiro!" Said Queen.

"I'm not gonna let anyone have it… This is my money..."

"You stole it all from innocent people!"

"Fine. I'll call off the debt..."

"Fine? You're still soundin' pretty condescendin'."

"You're right… I'm a poor, ugly… idiot."

"And a fatass, don't forget that you're a fatass." Murmured Spider-Man.

"How am I supposed to live a normal life like this?", continued Kaneshiro. "It's all because of our society! Weak people can't lead a happy life, no matter what they do! I'm a victim too, you know!? Yeah, none of this is my fault!"

"The more you talk, the more pathetic you sound." Fox said, disgusted with Kaneshiro.

"I just wanted a place where I could belong! You get that, don't you!?"

"Bullshit!", exclaimed Panther. "All you did was surround yourself with people you could use, solely for some easy money!"

"And you think you're the only one who's gotta deal with bein' labeled? Me… and all these other guys… We're all fightin' against that!" Skull exclaimed.

"But don't worry. You'll finally have a place to belong.", Queen said, almost smugly. "Somewhere you can make amends, for the rest of your life."

"We're gonna do somethin' about that distorted heart of yours. Free of charge."

"I'm glad you understand.", Fox told Kaneshiro, as he sitted on some gold bars and then faced the Phantom Thieves, face to face. "Now hurry up and return to the real Kaneshiro."

"Seriously? You guys don't have any tact. Especially with that incredible power...", said Kaneshiro. "These Palaces could net you loads of cash! You could do whatever you wanted to people's hearts!"

"We're not like you!" Skull said, angrily.

"Where do you find meaning in that naïve sense of justice? You know, there's already someone out there taking full advantage of what Palaces have to offer..."

This comment caught the attention of the Phantom Thieves.

"What?" Asked Queen.

"I'll let you in on a little something… There's a criminal using other people's Palaces to accomplish whatever they damn well please. They don't care about consequences. Psychotic breakdowns, mental shutdowns… Anything goes."

"Is that… the same person Madarame's Shadow spoke of?" Pointed out Fox.

"Wait the painter's Shadow said what now?"

"We'll explain to you later." Said Mona.

"Spill it! Who're you talkin' about!?"

"Don't even bother. You are nothing compared to them… Better be careful… A chance encounter with them could prove fatal..."

"Oh and one more thing." Said Kaneshiro's Shadow, who was starting to become transparent.

"One of my bosses already told me all about you, Spider-Man. That's why all knew all about you. Your origin story, secret identity, all that type of stuff."

"Wait what do you mean one of your bosses? Who's commanding you?" Asked Joker.

But instead of a response, all that Shadow Kaneshiro did was chuckle, as he disappear in a beam of light, returning to his real self. 

"Oh no… Spider-Sense is tingling real bad guys!" Worryingly said Spider-Man.

And so after dealing with Mona's treasure mania, they were barely able to escape the Palace.

  
  


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Despite falling onto the street, they were able to escape the crumbling Palace safely. 

"Owww..." Ann said, in pain.

"I think I cracked my ass..." Said Ryuji, also in pain

"Ann, are you alright!? Is yours cracked as well?" Yusuke said, worryingly.

"Of course not!"

"Isn't it supposed to be though?" Asked Makoto.

"Ugh, that's not what I mean! More importantly, it's dangerous for us to just charge out like that! Ack! Everyone's staring at us!"

"Thank goodness nobody was hurt."

"Uhhh, I wouldn't say nobody..."

The thieves then looked at the road, where Morgana was being crushed by a briefcase.

"That briefcase..." Said Ryuji.

"It appears to have been the cause of Morgana's demise..." Yusuke said, sadly.

"Rest in peace Morgana. You will be missed dearly." Peter said, before making corny trumpet noises with his mouth.

"That's not what I meant! Isn't that Kaneshiro's..."

"You mean his Treasure!?" 

"Hey, the light's red!" Makoto pointed out.

And so the Phantom Thieves saved Morgana from the street, and went to Leblanc.

"This place is oddly calming." Makoto pointed out.

"Despite it having comically high amounts of dus- *cough* *cough*. Seriously man, how can you breathe in here?" Peter asked Ren.

"You get used to it." He said.

"Have you learned anything new?" Makoto asked Yusuke, as he attempted to open the briefcase.

"It's sealed by a rotary lock. We'll need the combination to open it."

"Meooowgh!" Screamed Morgana, as Ann patched him up.

"A rotary lock, hmen?" Makoto then went to the briefcase, put a code on it and somehow opened it up. This surprised everyone, but made Peter specifically only love her more… but he didn't love LOVE her, right? I mean, she was just a friend for him.

"...I knew it." She said, smugly.

"How did you get that?" Asked Yusuke.

"I simply memorized the combination. I saw him open and close it so many times, after all."

"W-Well that's… scary. But amazin' too!" 

"Urghhh, that burns… Hey, hurry up and open it." Ordered Morgana.

And so Makoto open it, and all the Phantom Thieves gasped at the contents of the briefcase. It was money, but loads of it, filling every corner of it.

"H-How much is this?" Asked Ryuji.

"I belive one stack is one million yen..."

"One, two, three… Uhhh, there's thirty of them in here!?" Counted Ann.

"Thirty million yen… Even after splitting it, we still each get five million!" Makoto pointed out.

"Holy shit… It's gonna be deluxe pork soup combo for me from here on out!" Ryuji said, smiling.

"Hey, maybe I can finally pay off Aunt May's debts with this!"

All the Phantom Thieves then started to discuss what they would buy with the money. But then Yusuke pointed out how the money seemed fake. And it was, as it was just a part of the children's bank. However they decided to sell the golden case, and to wait for Kaneshiro's change of heart.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all! This might be the last chapter for a while, as I currently have no idea for where to take the story too. in the meantime I will be watching the persona 5 anime to see if any ideas come up!


	28. The elephant in the room

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter and the Phantom Thieves explain themselves to Mary Jane.

Having "and your friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man" in the calling card proved to be quite a move. Peter had asked the Phantom Thieves if he could explain to his best friend, MJ all about the process of stealing one's heart, and they did allow it, but during the call of them should be there. And so it was decided that they would meet up at leblanc and use Ann's laptop, which was filled with cutesy and "”kawaii" stickers.

"Peter there's something we need to talk- wait, why are you in a… café? And who are these people?" Mary Jane asked.

"It's a long story. A very long one." Ren told her.

And so the Phantom Thieves all explained to Mary Jane… well… everything. From what Palaces were, to Personas and all of their awakenings (including Peter's), to even how they could hear what Morgana was saying.

"What… the… fuck."

"Yeah MJ. What the fuck indeed." Peter said.

"Now that we're done explaining to Watson-san our current situation, I would like to ask her a question."

"What is it… hum… Yusuke, right?"

"Yes, that is me. Anyways I would like to ask you if you would like to be the model for my next art piece."

"Yusuke, I told you no more nude paintings!" Ren said, annoyingly. 

"N-Nude paintings!?", MJ's cheeks then became clearly pinker. "A-Are you trying to do something to me?!"

"What? No, of course it wouldn't be a nude painting. It would be a fully clothed piece."

"Oh." MJ then stopped blushing. "Well in that case, then I'm all yours."

"...Was that an attempt at being sexy?" Peter asked.

"Do attempts count if I'm always sexy?"

"Touché."

With that exchange the mood in Leblanc changed to a more laid back one, with Mary Jane and Peter telling the thieves stories about Spider-Man's heroics, such as the first time Peter told MJ about his powers, his first night on patrol, and how in one of his encounters with Wilson Fisk he got cut like a sausage, and that MJ had to drive him to the hospital in her dad's car, which she stole.

Peter adored what was happening, since who were at that point, 2 totally different groups of friends (well, 1 group of friends and just 1 friend from a bigger group) were getting along really well. But it was getting quite late, so he thanked Ann for her laptop, and he and Makoto went home. If only Peter could take the Phantom Thieves to New York for them to meet Mary Jane and the others...

  
  



	29. Another successful change of heart!

"Hell yeah! Kaneshiro finally confessed!", Ryuji celebrated, happily. "People've been makin' a huge deal of it since the police announcement!"

"It's difficult to accept that the authorities are taking all of the credit for his arrest." Yusuke said disappointedly.

"Hey, at least we took a dangerous criminal of the streets. That's all that matters to me." Peter said.

"People are going nuts about the Phantom Thieves online though. Look!" Ann then showed her phone.

"It's all comin' together for us!"

"This is quite the turnaround. All of a sudden, people are expressing their long-standing belief in us."

"Wait, where's Makoto at?"

Perfectly timed, Ren then received a call from Makoto, explaining that she couldn't join the rest of them as she was called for a meeting with the school's principal, but that there was no need to worry. She also told them about how there was a tv special about the Phantom Thieves, all about their calling cards.

But then the mood quickly changed for a worse one when Yusuke reminded them of what Kaneshiro's shadow had told them.

"Another Metaverse user..." Ren sighed.

"I'm more worried about his secret boss. If they know my secret identity… then who knows what else they might know."

"Eh, not gonna let it bother me. Far as we know, he was just pullin' that shit out of his ass."

"I hope that's the case..." Yusuke said, worryingly.

"Anyways, in your face, Akechi! Now whaddya wanna do about our next target!?"

"Don't get ahead of yourself.", said Ann. "Still, people might expect a lot from our next move considering how excited they're getting."

"We can't just pick any old schmo now."

"There is no need to hurry though. Counting Kamoshida, we've claimed three consecutive victories, right?", Yusuke pointed out. "We should just lay low and wait for all this excitement to blow over."

"In that case, how about we have another celebration?" Ann smiled.

"Good idea! We can make it a welcomin' party for Miss President too. By the way, that briefcase? It's pretty damn expensive! Let's sell it and drop the cash on our party!"

"Wow… Seems like the "lay low and wait" idea has gone completely out the window."

"So we can count you out then, Morgana?"

"Uh… what are you talking about? I was just saying we should try and keep our party on the down low."

"Hahaha, that's the spirit. Well, I'm gonna let Makoto know!"

But as Ann called Makoto, Makoto reminded them of how they had finals the following week, so they decided to have their celebratory party afterwards.

  
  


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After Kaneshiro's change of heart, it seemed like organized crime really took a hit in Tokyo, which Peter could tell by how hard fights had become. All the criminals seemed desperate to take him down, instead of just fighting him in their defense. And after a long day of patrol, all that Peter wanted was to take a nice shower and go to bed. 

"Parker-kun, Jameson wants to speak to you." Said Sae.

_"Great, right when I wanted nothing but to sleep I have to speak to my angry boss."_

And so he used her laptop to talk to Jameson once more.

"Hey Mr. Jameson- wait why are you wearing a tin foil hat…?"

"To protect my heart against those Phantom Criminals, obviously! And did you see who's working with them?!"

"Spider-Man." Peter mumbled.

"THAT WALL CRAWLING MENACE SPIDER-MAN! And you know what that means right?!"  
  


"No Jonah, I don't know what that means."

"IT MEANS THAT THAT MENACE SPIDER-MAN CAN NOW "CHANGE PEOPLE'S HEARTS" OR WHATEVER THE HELL THAT BULLCRAP MEANS! SO THAT THEY CAN MANIPULATE ANYONE THEY WANT! NO ONE'S SAFE FROM SPIDER-MAN NOW! NO. ONE."

Peter had to fight against every fiber of his body to not chuckle at Jonah's rants of fury, but he managed not to. After that he finally took a shower and went to sleep.

  
  



	30. Change of plans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the first chapter from Akechi's point of view, but this will definitely not be the last one! From akechi's pov, I obviously have other chapters planned. Anyways enjoy!

Goro Akechi hated a lot of things. He hated himself for causing so much pain in others. He hated being considered the "charming high school detective prince". He hated people who had a better life then him. But most importantly, he hated one person, the man that ruined his life: Masayoshi Shido. He raped his mother, which led to his birth; of which shortly afterwards caused her death. God he despised him, and all he wanted to do was to head towards him, slit his throat, blow his brains out and kick him from the highest building in the world. But he couldn't, no no, he had to wait. You see, Shido was a man of conviction, and he had a plan. A masterfully crafted plan, that would end in him becoming prime minister, and fixing Japan. And even with the rise of the Phantom Thieves they made a small change of plans to take them down as well: Make them skyrocket in popularity, then cause a mental shutdown on one of their targets, force them into stealing Sae Nijima's heart (who they would forcefully form a Palace on her), organize an ambush on her Palace where at least their leader would be captured, and then eliminate him in the interrogation room, with the other thieves being also killed off, or with them falling later. But it was Spider-Man that was the real issue.

So much so that shortly after Kaneshiro's change of heart, Shido and his main collaborators all went on a meeting, including Akechi. There was Kunikazu Okumura, one of Shido's investors, Principal Kobayakawa of Shujin Academy, the SIU Director, and finally Shido himself. 

"Gentlemen," Shido said. "as you may know, two of our main investors, Madarame and Kaneshiro have got their heart changed by the Phantom Thieves. Not only that, but Spider-Man is now confirmed to be one of the Phantom Thieves. This would be a threat… if it wasn't for one of our new collaborators."

Shido then pushed a monitor in the room. There, there was a silhouette of a person. 

"Thank you Mr. Shido.", said the mysterious collaborator, but his voice was through a voice modulator. "I'm already very familiar with Spider-Man. I know who he is, how he got his powers, and most importantly… how to beat him."

"And who exactly is this Spider-Man character…?"

"Sorry Kobayakawa, but I don't wanna ruin the surprise."

"How do you know?", asked Akechi. "How do you know so much of who Spider-Man is?"

"If I told you that, you would figure out my identity, wouldn't you? Then again, you are an ace detective..."

"But how will we defeat Spider-Man then?" Okumura asked.

"The cunning warrior attacks neither body nor mind… he attacks the heart. We'll hurt those he cares about, make him wish he was dead… and then finally give him what he wants, and deliver the finishing blow." Even though it was just a silhouette, Akechi could tell that the mysterious person was grinning.

And so, they explained their plan on how to defeat Spider-Man. And it was quite simple really: Plan A was to break a villain out of their prison, causing Spider-Man to be forced to return to New York, where he would be staked out to see anyone he would be around with. Then kill said person, causing emotional distress, and then finally deliver the finishing blow. But if that didn't work, then they would just use their original plan with the Phantom Thieves and hope that the Spider would fall with them too.

But like I said before, Akechi had plans of his own. He would announce that he was Shido's bastard son on the day of his Prime Minister inauguration, making Shido be his pawn. And god, he couldn't wait for that to happen.

  
  



	31. Lovestruck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Phantom Thieves attempt to celebrate their victory against Kaneshiro.

Peter was starting to get used to going to school on saturdays, but he was still thankful for sundays. However this sunday he would have to study for his finals, with the Phantom Thieves. There Ren told Makoto how he got into probation, and then Peter explained to the rest of the thieves how he became Spider-Man.

"... And that's basically the gist of it and- wait, are you crying Ryuji?"

"I'm sorry man, it's just that… death effin' hits y'know? And all you wanted to do was to… h-help your uncle and aunt but then your unc died. That's so sad and I'm sorry."

Ryuji then hugged Peter.

"Hey, my story didn't get this reaction." Ren said, clearly joking. 

"Hey, are we gonna study or not?" Makoto frowned.

And so they studied. But as they did it, Peter couldn't take his eyes off Makoto while she tried to remember a term that involved fear… and she looked beautiful, with her crimson eyes and cute white shirt with a little skirt on the bottom.

"Even if we study English, it's not like I'm gonna use it in the future."

This comment was enough to bring Peter back to reality.

"Hey isn't the school gonna have like, a trip to Hawaii later this year? Guess that's somewhere you can test your english."

They then decided to take a break from studying. But as they did that, they saw on TV saw Akechi call the Phantom Thieves criminals, no different then the people who they target, but the mood didn't get brought down by it. Instead they discussed how people were talking more and more about them. Then Ann offered for them to go for a fireworks festival after their exams. And so they all decided to go to it after their exams. 

  
  


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The day before the fireworks festival, Ryuji invited Peter, Ren and Yusuke to some summer festival. The festival was extremely hot, almost like a sauna, and there was a TV crew that interviewed the boys, but they couldn't be on TV. So Ryuji had the bright idea of making comments that, in Yusuke's own words, were "truly cringeworthy", in order to make them not air any of it. After that they were able to eat some of the meat they long awaited for, despite the long lines, and it was quite good, though Peter chose to actually eat shaved ice like Ren, because damn it was hot. Afterwards the boys decided to check a nearby under-construction stadium, though the construction barely began. But after coming home, Peter nearly had a heart attack, as they did show Ryuji's cringy comments.

_ "Yup, there goes my reputation."  _ Peter thought to himself.

But the day afterwards, the 18th of June was the date he was really looking forward to. Apparently Makoto would be wearing an yukata, which Peter had never heard of before, so he was curious to see what it is. Ann and Yusuke would also be wearing one… but for some reason all he could think of is how beautiful Makoto would be wearing one. It's not he was in love with her, right? I mean she was just a friend.

And so it was time for Peter and Makoto to leave, and that's when he saw her in her yukata, and he instantly regretted wearing his usual summer attire, which was a green flannel t-shirt, because she looked gorgeous in comparison. She was wearing what appeared to be a light, white kimono, with a red flower pattern. 

"So hum, how do I look?"

"You look… w-wow… you look absolutely gorgeous!" Peter said in a light pink blush, which was soon shared by Makoto.

And that was when Peter realized he was absolutely in love with Makoto.

Later they met up with Ann, who was wearing a light blue yukata, with a paint splash pattern of multiple colors, which reminded Peter of Yusuke. Speaking of him, they later met up with the him, as he wore what was either a very dark blue yukata, which fitted him very well, Ren and Ryuji, as they attempted to go out with two girls who were wearing a black and pink yukata respectively… only for Yusuke to dump them by telling them to "respect their womanhood more".

"...You know, Yusuke's such a pretty boy, but he is really missing out because of what he says." Said Ann.

"I guess, but he's more likeable since he stays true to his ideals.", Makoto replied. "Definitely more than somebody I know."

"I heard that Ryuji's pretty much failed his exams." Morgana smiled.

"Oh?"

"Mona, you little-"

"Hey, it's gonna get crowded if we don't get going."

"Agreed." Yusuke nodded.

"But man, you both look amazin' in yukata! Talk about Japanese beauty..."

But the fireworks festival already had began when they finally arrived. However, it was beautiful, with multiple colors and patterns… until it started to rain, really badly. It was so bad they had to quickly go to a local store to get safe from the rain, but it was incredibly crowded.

"My feet hurt… It's cold… The festival's been canceled… This sucks..." Murmured Ann.

Fortunately the rain began to stop, so everyone headed home for the night. Though when Peter got home with Makoto, Sae was nowhere to be seen, as according to a note she left, she was working on a case.

  
  



	32. Living on the edge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Phantom Thieves are challenged by a hacking organization and Ren is contacted by a mysterious person

As if the Phantom Thieves's day couldn't get any worse, they later got a threat by a hacking group named Medjed, challenging them to prove their justice. So much show that Peter received a message in the Phantom Thieves's group chat about medjed, where Ryuji had the idea of putting their name into the nav.

**Spider-Man:** But like aint medjed an organisation?

**Queen:** Yes. Not only that, but they are also under a pseudonym.

**Panther:** oh…

**Skull:** wouldnt we get at least one members info if we try and look into it though?

**Queen:** Even if we did, how would we discover their location?

**Queen:** The only confirmed presence of Medjed has been online.

**Fox:** This is a greater problem than simply finding their keywords.

**Fox:** Unless you have any more ideas, Ryuji?

Some minutes had passed, and still no response from the blonde boy.

**Fox:** ...It seems he had suggested this without putting much thought into it.

**Skull:** cmon we cant back down now! people are all excited about it!

**Skull:** our reputations gonna plummet if we dont face this shit

**Fox:** That is true. If we remain silent, people would believe we simply chose to run away from the matter.

**Queen:** Medjed has taunted us publicly, after all…

**Fox:** If they are criminals, we cannot just let them be.

**Panther:** yeah

**Panther:** and we dont have any other targets right now either

**Skull:** hey ren. lets talk to mishima tomorrow. this is more of his thing

**Joker:** is mishima part of medjed?

**Skull:** i doubt that

**Skull:** also, makoto. try seeing if your sister has any info on 'em

**Queen:** It's highly unlikely, but sure.

Peter then went to sleep, but not before seeing a picture Ryuji had taken of Ann and Makoto and complementing it, while also being completely mesmerized by Makoto. 

_ "God, she looked gorgeous in that yukata."  _ He thought to himself.

Peter then decided that he would invite Makoto on a date during the summer. After they dealt with Medjed, of course. Specially since nothing bad could happen, right?

  
  


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And then something bad happened. Because as Ren told the thieves, during his class he got a text from someone named "Alibaba", who knew that he was a Phantom Thief, who wanted to make a deal, where, if the thieves stole someone's heart, they would stop Medjed from doing the cleanse. But the thieves decided that it was best to plan things in Leblanc.

"...Oh? What's with the big group?" Sojiro asked.

"Good evening.", said Ann. "We were thinking about putting together plans for our summer."

"Hm? Is that a new face I see?"

"It's nice to meet you. My name is Makoto Niijima. I hope we're not being a bother."

"She's our student council president." Ryuji said.

"Niijima…?"

"Is something wrong?"

"...Nah, it's nothing. Ah student council president, eh? I'm stunned. I hope he's not causing you much trouble. I'm Sojiro Sakura, but everyone just calls me Boss. By the way, that was addressed to you. This old man'll get going and leave you kids be. All right, the store's all yours."

And so the Phantom Thieves began discussing what to do with Medjed, before a news report saying that Medjed had declared victory over them, with a message in their website saying that they would target anyone that sympathized or supported the thieves. 

Ren then opened his letter, revealing some type of calling card, presumably Alibaba's "necessary tool" that Ren said he talked about. Makoto told the thieves to wait for Alibaba's orders, which is what they did.

  
  


\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the next day things got interesting, as Alibaba once again contacted Ren. But this time he told the thieves to steal someone's heart, or else he would report the thieves to the police. And that someone was some Futaba Sakura. And after Ren told the thieves that, they realized that Futaba must have been related to Sojiro in some capacity. However despite living with Sojiro, he had no idea who this Futaba character was. Later that day Ren, he asked Sojiro about Futaba, but he fired back at him, confirming the relation between both, but without giving them their much needed info.

On the following day, Ryuji gave Ren the idea of going around Yogen-Jaya… only for the only info he got out of it being that Sojiro bought more food then what was enough for one person, which was already expected. But finally, when he got home he found something: Sae was telling Sojiro that his parental license might be revoked, because of the state of his daughter. 

"A woman was threatening Boss?" Makoto asked, as Ren explained what happened on the previous day.

"Yeah, she was going on about domestic abuse and taking the case to court and stuff..."

"......"

"What's up?" Ryuji asked Makoto, worried for his friend.

"It's nothing. So to summarize what you told us, Futaba is Boss's daughter, and he's abusing her? I don't know him very well… Is he really the kind of person who would do that?"

"Maybe..." Ren replied, with a thinkative look on his face.

"I don't want to doubt, but Alibaba did hack Ren's phone to ask for the Phantom Thieves' help."

But then, Ren's phone rang, and all the thieves started to look at the screen

**Alibaba:** I've given you a calling card and told you the target's name. You should be ready for this.

**Alibaba:** Why aren't you doing it?

**Alibaba:** I told you I'd help you if you stole her heart. What seems to be the hold up?

**Alibaba:** I also said I'd report your identity to the police if you didn't help me.

**Alibaba:** Are you OK with that? I'm serious here.

"What a selfish person." Commented Yusuke.

"Well, he does have information on us..." Replied Makoto

"Anyways, this Futaba he's talking about have a Palace? If so, we'll need keywords to get in. Try messaging him about 'em."

Ren nodded, and then replied to Alibaba.

**Ren:** tell me her keywords

**Alibaba:** Keywords?

**Alibaba:** What are you talking about?

**Alibaba:** Are you just saying random stuff to dodge the issue?

"What're we supposed to do about this?" Ann asked.

"We'd be able to figure out Alibaba's identity if we could just meet with him...", Morgana smiled. "Try asking him if there's any way we could meet up.

**Ren:** i want to meet you

**Alibaba:** Meet? With me?

**Alibaba:** That will be difficult.

**Alibaba:** I have reasons for not being able to go out.

**Alibaba:** That's why I'm contacting you like this.

"He can't go out?"

**Alibaba:** Wait. I get it.

**Alibaba:** You steal people's hearts directly… That might make things difficult.

**Alibaba:** Extremely difficult.

**Alibaba:** One moment.

**Alibaba:** I'm thinking…

**Alibaba:** OK. It's a shame, but I'm calling this deal off. Stop looking into Futaba Sakura.

**Alibaba:** Forget this ever happened. I won't report you to the police either, don't worry.

**Alibaba:** Sorry for taking your time. Now if you'll excuse me…

**Ren:** wait a sec

**Alibaba:** I said the deal's off!

**Alibaba:** We're never going to speak again. Don't expect me to contact you anymore either.

But when Ren tried to respond to Alibaba, the same error message that he saw too many times played. However, the thieves decided that perhaps the people of Medjed were just pranking them. Ryuji then decided that they should go for sushi in order to make up for what happened at the fireworks special, as they had 150 thousand yen from Kaneshiro's briefcase.

  
  


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The sushi in Ginza was, to put it simply, absolutely delicious. But Peter did wonder how different the quality of the sushi would be in a normal restaurant, that wasn't super expensive.

After eating the sushi and as the thieves were going to the subway to head back home, they met up with Goro Akechi.

"Niijima-san! What are you doing here?" He asked, confused.

"Akechi-kun..."

"Akechi?" Ryuji turned around, with his eyes wide open.

"You're the ones from the TV station… Could it be you're friends of Niijima-san?"

"I mean, I'm literally living with her in her home, so yeah I am sort of friends with her."

"Oh, I didn't know you two were that close Parker-kun."

This led both Peter's and Makoto's cheeks to take on a pink coloration.

"HUM, IT'S NOT- IT'S DEFINITELY  **NOT** LIKE THAT!"

"Do you know this guy?" Yusuke asked.

"It's nice to meet you.", Akechi smiled. "My name is Akechi. Glad to make your acquaintance, Yusuke Kitagawa.

"How do you know my name?"

"Well, because I'm a psychic, of course."

"Wow, I didn't know that someones grandma's sweater was a part of the X-Men's uniform then." Peter replied, sarcastically.

"Hey I like this sweater! Anyways, as I was gonna say, I'm a rookie detective. You're a former pupil of Madarame, right? I have finally just recently joined the investigation team looking into the Phantom Thieves. Did you see how Spider-Man is now a part of them?"

"Yeah, pretty crazy right?" Said Ren.

"You know, despite actually being able to see him, it's quite hard to get info on the Phantom Thieves via Spider-Man."

This sort worked as a mental reminder for Peter to be extra careful as Spider-Man for now on, as he couldn't leave anything that might trace him to the Phantom Thieves.

"Did you also see that Medjed has declared war on them?"

"War?" Ryuji asked, confused.

"Their website was updated just a moment ago."

"For real!?"

And so after Akechi perhaps implied that Peter's friend group was connected to the Phantom Thieves and left, the thieves checked Medjed's message on their website, saying that they would "cleanse" Japan on August 21st unless the Phantom Thieves revealed their identities. Afterwards they went to Leblanc where they discussed what to do, where Makoto said that maybe Alibaba is Futaba.

"Makoto, you're a goddamn genius!" Peter grinned.

Then the thieves decided to go to Sojiro's house.

"Nobody is answering.", said Makoto. "But the lights are on..."

"Think she's nappin'?"

"Even Boss would've woken up with how many times we've rung this doorbell." 

"I would think Futaba would have answered by now if she were here too."

Yusuke then tried to open the gate, and surprisingly it was unlocked. But then it started to rain, and so the thieves went inside. And as they did, lighting struck and the lights went out, and they heard a scream.

"A scream!? What was that!?" Makoto nearly yelled, desperately.

The thieves then decided to leave Sojiro's house, but as Peter was leaving he heard Makoto say something to Ren.

"Um, sorry… Can I hold your hand?"

This made him deeply jealous, as he wanted to be the one holding Makoto's hand.

_ "Control yourself Pete, she's a strong, beautiful and independent woman."  _ Peter thought to himself.  _ "Just because she wants someone to hold her hand, it doesn't mean that she's in love with him. Yeah! It's all fine and dandy." _

But as they were leaving Peter's Spider-Sense began to tingle: Someone was coming, and so he and the others hid themselves in the corridor as Makoto held onto Ren's leg, which is where Peter's jealousy hit it's peak. Makoto then took a look at who was behind her, and it seemed to be a girl with orange hair and glasses, and both screamed to their heart's content.

  
  



End file.
